Final Challenge
by Matkin22
Summary: Ash is battling Cynthia to finally become a Master, but something has destabilized the Pokemon World.... AdvanceShipping, SatoHaru, AaMayL, AshxMay, minor AbilityShipping, ContestShipping, PewterPearlShipping
1. Preparation

**Well, this is my first fanfiction. I hope that you'll all enjoy it. It may seem to be about just Ash's forthcoming battle with Cynthia, but if you think that then you'll be pleasently surprised as the story is MUCH more complex than that! There will be some Advanceshipping, SatoHaru, AaMayL in this story, so please, if you are going to review don't flame it. I want genuine feedback. I can't promise a regular updating schedule, but I will update as often as I can.**

* * *

Ash yawned and turned over in his bed, the morning sunlight falling on his face. His nose was tickled by a twitching lightning-shaped tail and, sneezing, he awoke. He pulled himself upright and stared around the room. A wide grin began to spread across his face. 

It had been two years since his victory in the Sinnoh league. He had fought some of his toughest matches ever against Katie, Nando, and of course, Paul. He smiled, reliving the final match against Paul. It had been very close, but in the end Pikachu had managed to triumph over Paul's Electivire. After that, he had been permitted to take the Elite Four challenge, the final test for aspiring Pokemon Masters. The requirements for this were very tough - he had to defeat an Elite Four member of his choice from each of the four main regions before being able to battle the Champion. The kicker was that he couldn't lose a single match.

Those battles had been tough, but over the course of the next two years he had taken on and defeated Agatha of Kanto, Karen of Johto, Glacia of Hoenn, and Lucien of Sinnoh. His last opponent, the one he would battle today, was Cynthia of Sinnoh.

Ash stretched and jumped out of the bed. He knew that to defeat Cynthia he would need to use the strongest six Pokemon he had captured and befriended since leaving Pallet Town to start his journey ten years ago. _Seven_, he thought. _That's how many Frontier Symbols I needed to beat the Battle Frontier. And then, when I beat the Frontier, I was offered the position of Frontier Brain. But I couldn't take it then - I'd only just learned about the Sinnoh League. I wasn't ready to just hang around, waiting for challengers to show up every few weeks_.

He looked around his room and smiled slightly. He still didn't think he was ready, but while he was travelling around Sinnoh, Scott - the man who built the Frontier and had encouraged Ash to participate in it - had constructed an eighth location: the Battle Colosseum. Construction on it had been completed just as Ash was halfway through the Elite Four challenge. It truly was an amazing building. It was open to the elements in a similar way to both the Battle Factory and the Battle Palace so that flying types had room to manoeuvre. There was a large pool in the shape of a Poke Ball at the centre of the large circular field, surrounded on all sides by interchanging patches of Grass and Rock fields.

_I don't think I'm ready to stop travelling yet_, Ash thought. _Maybe that's ok though. When I started the Elite Four challenge, May and Max began to tour a region I'd never heard of. The Frayen region sure does have a lot of unique Pokemon. I can't wait to see which Pokemon she caught_. Thinking of his friends, he began to feel a little sad. While Brock, Misty, Tracey, Max, and Dawn had all managed to make it in time for this battle, May hadn't been able to arrive in time.

Ash sighed. He'd spoken to her only last night, but she had been stranded in Johto's Cianwood City because of a powerful storm. While Max had gone straight back to Petalburg City after travelling around Frayen, May had decided to compete in one last Frayen contest just for fun before heading straight to Kanto via the Johto sea routes.

He shook his head in disbelief at the memory of how powerful that storm had been. He had endured similar conditions during an eventful journey through the Orange Islands. He began to grow uneasy as he remembered how close to Cianwood the Whirl Islands were, and that a similar creature to the one involved in the Orange Island's storm had once lived there. Unconsciously, his hand moved to his chest, feeling the pendent beneath his sheet. "I'm just glad she's okay," he muttered. "At least the power plant was able to get the electricity flowing again so that I could at least talk to her."

"Chu?" he heard a voice say. He pushed away those thoughts and fixed a grin to his face, turning to Pikachu who had only just woken up and was looking at Ash enquiringly.

"It's nothing," he reassured his friend. "Just wishing that an old friend was here today." Pikachu nodded knowingly and sprang from the bed to Ash's shoulder. "Ready to win today, old pal?" he murmured.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied. His nose twitched. He jumped from Ash's stomach and sprang towards the door which opened automatically. Ash laughed and chased after his friend. It didn't take him long to realize that Pikachu was leading him into the kitchen.

"Morning, Brock!" he said brightly as he entered, sniffing the air. "Is that sausage I smell?" Brock laughed.

"Some things never change," he chuckled. He placed a big plate of sausage, pancakes, and a bowl of fruit salad on the table before sitting down across from the trainer. "How'd you sleep, Ash?"

"Great," Ash said, his mouth full of pancake as Pikachu jumped onto the table. "I'm really looking forward to the battle today. Only a couple of hours to go! Where's everyone else gone though?"

"Let's see... Max is out in the Colosseum training his Gardevoir... Professor Oak, Tracey, and Delia are on their way from Pallet Town - they didn't bother coming over for the night because it's the closest place to the Colosseum. I'm here, obviously, and I think that Misty is training her Gyarados with Max. As for Dawn, I'm not really sure where she -"

"I'm right here," Dawn interrupted from behind Ash. She pulled out a chair from the table and plonked herself down, grabbing a couple of pancakes and sausages, then stealing the ketchup bottle away before Pikachu could grab it. Her long blue hair swished around her head as she deftly tossed it backwards so that a few stray strands wouldn't enter her mouth as she ate. "Morning Brock, morning Ash," she added as an afterthought. Ash smiled at her.

"Morning Dawn," he replied.

"Did everyone manage to come?" she asked. His eyes looked suddenly downcast as once again he clutched at the pendant beneath his shirt, an action not missed by any of his table companions. Dawn looked sideways at Brock, who had a look of complete understanding on his face.

"Ash, you know that if it was possible she would have moved the continents to be here for you," Brock said gently. Ash was silent for a minute.

"I know," he said at last, "but I was really hoping that she would have been able to make it. She's the only one of my friends that just couldn't get here, because of that storm." Dawn looked at him with a winning smile.

"Ash, you're an official Frontier Brain now," she said. "You're the most experienced trainer that I know. You've travelled through Hoenn and Kanto with May, and you know that sometimes these things will happen. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing that can be done. If there was any way possible to get here today, May would have done it."

"Look on the bright side about today," Brock said, trying to lift his friend's spirits. "At least you'll finally be able to break in the Colosseum. Plus, as a Frontier Brain, you're allowed to carry around as many Pokemon as you want, just like Noland. Think how happy they'll all be, able to spend all of their time outside of their Poke Balls with you."

Ash looked up, a smile spreading on his face. "You're both right," he said. "I'm really looking forward to being able to spend more time with all of my Pokemon. I just don't think I'm ready to settle down yet though. I need a new challenge. What I really want to do is explore at least one more region, probably Frayen."

"I'm sure Scott would understand," Brock said, smiling at his friends insatiable desire to travel.

"Come on Pikachu," Ash said, now back at full spirit. "We can get in a little more training before the match. I want to make sure that my team is ready to battle! Thanks for the breakfast, Brock!" He dashed off, with Pikachu on his shoulder.

Brock sighed as he held up the nearly-empty ketchup bottle to eye-level. "You know, this was full this morning," he said to Dawn. She giggled.

"I think Pikachu enjoyed it, Brock. It was your home-made stuff, right?"

"Yeah," he said, "made from tomato's picked straight out of the garden." Brock shook his head in disbelief. "That Pikachu sure does love his ketchup."

Dawn leaned in towards him. "Do you think we should tell him?" she asked. Brock shook his head.

"No," he said, "let it be a surprise. They haven't seen each other in so long. Thank goodness the Professor was still in Pallet Town when news came in about that storm. It was lucky that Gary was able to find it so quickly."

"I can't wait to finally meet May," Dawn said. "I really hope that they'll be able to get here in time. Ash really misses her." Brock smiled.

"Knowing those two, and what they'd do for Ash" he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were only a town away right now."

* * *

**Well, this seemed as good a place to end Chapter One as any. I have the rest of the story planned out so please don't worry - I'll write it out as soon as I can. My hope is for this to end up being at least half the length of "May's Crush" (a fantastic fanfiction by PikamasterADV). If you would like to review, please do so, or click my username if you want to contact me personally. Any and all feedback is appreciated. I'll try to update as soon as possible, with both chapters two and three at the same time. Oh, and get ready to encounter some species that you've never even heard of before.**


	2. Return

**Well, heres Chapter Two up and ready to go, with Chapter Three being uploaded right behind. Is it just me, or do these chapters seem really small when reading them on the net? Hard to believe that this was on it's fourth page in Word, at a ten-point font. Again, please review (feedback is really important to me), and share among your friends. There isn't really any shipping in this chapter (sorry shippers!), but I'm sure that it will make a return before long.**

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Ash ran through the house just behind the Colosseum, rooms flashing by as he made his way outside. Stepping into the bright sunlight, he flexed his arms energetically and crossed the small strip of land to the structure that towered over him and housed the large circular battlefield that held the combination of Water, Grass, and Rock. He paused a moment as he entered, watching Max and Misty at the centre of the field, their Gardevoir and Gyarados sparring each other. 

"Gardevoir, use Shadow Ball!" Max shouted. The white-green simian-shaped Pokemon brought it's long green arms together and a glowing purple-black ball began to form.

"Gyarados, dive underwater to dodge and then use Aqua Tail!" Misty retaliated. The gigantic Atrocious Pokemon, battling from the large deep pool at the centre of the field, ducked it's head under water. The Shadow Ball flew into the water, sending up a huge spray of water that momentarily blocked the water from view. A glowing blue tail sliced through the spray and connected with the Gardevoir. The Gardevoir soared backwards from the impact and landed further up in the grass, unable to battle any more.

"Gardevoir!" Max shouted, running to his Pokemon. He held up her head and murmured soothingly to her for a moment. He stood up, took his Poke Ball from his belt, and recalled her. Wiping his face quickly, he turned to Misty who was walking towards him. "That was a great battle, Misty. Thanks," he said.

"It was my pleasure, Max," she said with a smile. "It won't take long until you beat me though. You're stronger every time we battle."

"I might be getting stronger," he said, shaking his head, "but I'll never be able to beat you. Your Gyarados is too powerful."

"That's not true, Max," Ash said, walking towards them from the shadowed entryway, picking his way carefully through one of the rock field segments . Misty and Max both jumped, surprised by Ash's sudden appearance. "A Pokemon is only as strong as it's trainer. If you don't have any confidence in your Pokemon, they won't have any confidence either."

"He's right, Max," Misty told him. "A Pokemon's skills depend on the trust of the trainer. Call out your Gardevoir." Looking slightly puzzled, Max sent out Gardevoir. "Gardevoir," Misty said, kneeling in front of the Psychic-type, "you have an incredible friendship with Max. If the danger was real enough, would you give your life to protect him?"

"Gaar, Gardevoir," the Psychic-type responded with a nod.

"You see," Ash explained to Max, "it takes a lot for a human to earn the trust of a Gardevoir. But they have an incredible sense of loyalty that almost no other type of Pokemon does. They've even been known to sacrifice their life for their trainer, but only if they share a deep bond. Since Gardevoir would do that for you -"

"It means that we have a really strong friendship," Max realized, "just like you and Pikachu."

"Exactly," Ash laughed.

"Since when did you know so much about Gardevoir, Ash?" Misty asked with a smirk. "You're normally too busy charging into battle to think about things like loyalty."

"Are you kidding?" Ash asked. "The best thing about Pokemon is my friendship with them. Being friends is much more important than winning any battle. All of my Pokemon are as close to me as any Gardevoir ever was to it's trainer. Anyways, I know so much about Gardevoir because I almost had one myself."

"You mean that you almost caught a Gardevoir once?" Max asked excitedly. "They're really rare in the wild, how did you manage to find one?"

"It wasn't quite like that, Max," Ash laughed. He threw a Poke Ball into the air. "Come on out, Gallade," he called. In a beam of red light, a Pokemon erupted to the ground; roughly the same height as Gardevoir, it looked very similar but at the same time, very different.

"Erlade," it said.

"Wow, a Gallade!" Max shouted. "It's so cool! They specialize in close range battling, while Gardevoir prefer long-range battles because that makes moves like Psychic and Shadow Ball easier to use, but Gallade are so dangerous up close. They have huge loyalty to anyone who catches them, and they only evolve when they're -"

Ash smiled and shook his head slightly as he watched Max regurgitate everything he'd ever heard about Gallade. He turned to Misty and saw that she was smiling slightly too.

"So, when you say that friendship is more important than any battle, does that include today's?" she asked him.

"Yup," Ash answered. "I want to win of course, but Cynthia is one of the most powerful trainers alive, and I wouldn't want to force any of my Pokemon into doing something that they didn't want to do. I'll need some luck today, but I've beaten four members of the Elite Four, and done a lot of training too. I think I have a chance, as long as she doesn't use Rayquaza anyways." Misty look puzzled.

"Why would Cynthia have a Rayquaza?" she asked. "It's a legendary Pokemon, and probably impossible to capture."

"It's a long story," Ash said with a reminiscing grin, thinking of the time when he, Brock, and Dawn had been caught in the fantasy of a Mismagius.

"Have you chosen your team yet?" Misty asked. "You have a lot of Pokemon to choose from."

"Tell me about it," Ash said, shaking his head. "All of them want to battle, but I've decided on my six. I'll need speed, power, and luck to win so I've chosen the six that can help me out most with that. Two of them are on their way right now, so hopefully we'll be able to train a little before the match starts."

Misty sighed and looked around the battlefield. "I hope that our sparring didn't damage the field before the match," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Ash said. "The grass will dry, and the pool is self-filling. I can't see any actual damage, so I don't think that you two will have shown me up in front of the world when the match is filmed later today." Misty shoved him playfully.

"Oh, just go and train," she said, walking over to Max who was still staring at Gallade and spouting facts. "Come on, you," she said, taking Max by the ear and dragging him off.

"Hey wait, what are you doing? I'm not Brock!" Max yelled.

"You're looking more and more like him with the way you're staring at that poor Pokemon," Misty said. "Lets leave Ash to train."

"Okay, okay, just - ouch! - let _go_ of me, it hurts - ouch!"

Ash chuckled as he watched the two leave. "Some things never change," he said to Pikachu.

"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed, hopping down from his shoulder.

Ash began walking towards the other side of the Colosseum. "Come on Gallade, lets get the others and train," he said. "I'm guessing that you want to battle today, right?"

"Er!" Gallade exclaimed, crossing it's blades and then swinging outwards. Without warning, Ash began running.

"Catch me if you can!" he called.

"Er! Lade! Er! Lade!" Gallade muttered under it's breath, running to catch up with his trainer.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, running alongside it.

Laughing, Ash put on a final spurt of speed to reach the exit from the Colosseum before either of his two Pokemon could catch up with him. A huge spurt of fire shot downwards from the sky, enveloping Ash completely and bringing him to a sudden halt.

"Erlade," the Pokemon called cheerfully as it dodged past the blackened trainer, saluting up at the sky with one of it's blades.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu called, waving it's arms excitedly at the sky.

Soot falling off of him at movement, Ash craned his neck skywards, He stared for a few moments until he distinguished two moving orange lights against the brilliance of the sun. The lights quickly grew into two distinct shapes, gliding down to the Colosseum.

"He's here!" Ash shouted, hopping up and down on alternating feet in his excitement. "And it looks like Liza and Charla came too! I'm down here, Charizard!"

The fire dragon roared in delight and shot down another torrent of flames, blackening Ash anew.

"Great to see you again, Ash," Liza smiled as she jumped the last few feet from Charla's back, landing deftly on the ground. "See how accurate Charizard's Flamethrower has gotten? He was able to hit you as you were running, from a couple of hundred feet up in the air! I think you'll be pretty happy with his power too. He's stronger than ever."

"Great!" Ash smiled, wiping the last of the soot from his face and turning to face his Pokemon. "Charizard, this is gonna be great! Are you ready to help me in my most important battle ever?" Charizard roared and shot jets of fire into the sky.

"I want to ask you something, Ash," Liza said, suddenly serious.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"See," she began, "the thing is that Charizard has just gotten too strong. None of the other Charizard in the Charicific Valley can even match him anymore. He beats them in battle every single time. I don't think that there is anybody left for him to train against anymore. So I was wondering if you'd like to take Charizard back now, and train with him together so that he can get stronger in ways that can't be learnt in the Charicific Valley."

"You mean... you mean that you want me take Charizard back? He wouldn't live in the Charicific Valley anymore?" Ash asked, stunned.

"That's right," Liza said eagerly. "You two could be together again properly, for the first time since Johto!"

"Well I don't know," Ash said slowly. "What do you want to do Charizard?" he asked. "Do you want to stay with your friends in the Charicific Valley, or would you like to be with me again?"

Without hesitation, Charizard stomped off behind Ash and let out a low roar. Ash looked at him for a moment and then threw his arms around Charizard's neck, laughing as tears streamed down his face.

"Welcome to the team again, Charizard!" he said.

"Pika!"

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**You know, I'm really not that happy with this chapter. I don't think that it turned out as good as the last one. But still, if you enjoyed reading it then please let me know in a review! I know that there wasn't much shipping, but don't worry, it's coming. So Ash has a Gallade - bet you didn't see that one coming! He isn't the only new Pokemon in town - there are some surprises in store for May and Max too! Well, Charizard is back, this time for good. But don't worry, he has a much larger role to play than just being the big, strong Pokemon used last in a battle!**


	3. Reunion

**Here's Chapter Three, uploaded alongside Chapter Two as promised. Hope you like it!**

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Liza smiled as she watched the three friends reunite, with Gallade waiting a little shyly in the background - he hadn't met Ash's Charizard yet. She turned to Charla who was watching the scene with a little sadness. 

"Don't worry, Charla," she whispered. "We'll visit them as often as we can. It's not as if the trip is a lot longer than it is to Blackthorn City, and we go there a lot, don't we?" Charla gave a sad little roar in reply, but her eyes brightened a little. Liza smiled, and was about to hop onto Charla's back when she noticed the little package that that she was holding securely.

"How could I have forgotten?" she muttered, slapping her head. "Hey, Ash!" she called turning around, "I have something for you!"

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "What is it?" Liza took the package from Charla's arms and gave it to Ash.

"It's a Pokemon egg," she explained. "I found it with Charla the other day. Look at the pattern on the side," she said, pointing towards the flames on the egg shell. "I'm pretty sure that it'll hatch into a Charmander. I think this is from your Charizard, so I want you to have it. Give it to someone special."

"Wow, Liza... Charla... thanks!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up. "I know just who to give it to!"

"I'll leave you to warm up with your Pokemon now," Liza said, looking at Charizard fondly. "Well, see you at the match, Ash! Good luck!"

"Thank you," Ash beamed. "And thank you for looking after Charizard for all of these years. You've taken really good care of him."

"Don't thank me," Liza said, her face embarrassed as she coughed slightly. "Thank Charla. She spent a lot more time with your Charizard than I did."

"Well then thank _you_, Charla," he said, transferring his gaze. "I really appreciate everything you've ever done for him." Charla growled, her orange face tinged with a slight shade of red as she shuffled slightly, looking at the ground. In a sudden movement, she shot two blasts of fire, one at Ash, the other at Charizard. Ash stood there, blackened again as Charla took to the air, circled around, swept down and pulled Liza onto her back.

"Never get on the good side of a Charizard," Liza chuckled to herself as Charla swept out of the Colosseum, leaving Ash and Charizard out of sight.

Ash sighed as he wiped his face clean again and looked down at his now crispy Sinnoh outfit. _I knew I shouldn't have put this on today,_ he thought.

* * *

After a quick wash and change into his old Hoenn outfit, Ash stepped back outside, stretching in the fresh air again. 

"I guess Charizard must have been extra-pleased to see you today, Ash," Brock said humourously as he came around the corner of the building. "You don't normally need to change after one his Flamethrowers." Ash just sighed, thinking about his ruined clothes. "Is your team picked yet?" Brock asked.

Ash nodded. "I'm going with Pikachu and Charizard," he said, "as well as Sceptile, Snorlax, and Gallade."

"Who's the last member of your team? Don't tell me that you haven't decided yet!"

Ash just smiled. "Who? That, my friend, will be a mystery until the battle," he laughed. He took a step forwards and walked into something soft. "Oof," he gasped, falling to the ground hard.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Brock asked, concerned.

"I walked into something," he groaned, standing upright.

"But there's nothing there," Brock said, eying the spot in trepidation before looking carefully around both of them.

_Could be a Light Screen, or a Reflect I suppose,_ Ash thought. _But they're normally hard, not soft_. He took a step towards Brock and crashed again.

"Ash!" Brock shouted as Ash looked up, seemingly dazed. Then, to Brock's surprise, he gave a huge grin.

"I think my final team member's just arrived," he said.

"I didn't know you'd caught any Pokemon that could make themselves invisible," Brock noted.

"I haven't, but I am friends with one," Ash explained. He reached out his hand and lightly began to move his fingers in a tickling motion. There was a chirping noise that sounded a little like laughter, and suddenly a white and red dragon materialized. Brock's jaw dropped.

"La - Latias?" he whispered in disbelief. "How... how did you..."

"I called Lorenzo and Bianca in Alto Mare," Ash explained as Latias nuzzled up to him, crooning happily. "They went to find Latias, and she was more than happy to come over."

"Is it allowed?" he asked doubtfully, eying the Eon Pokemon. Ash shrugged.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be," he said. "When I battled Noland he used Articuno, and they were just friends. But you should know the rules, Brock, you are the referee."

"True," Brock sighed. "Well, I think that it'll be okay, but I'll have to double-check the rules just to be safe. You don't want to battle Cynthia with just five Pokemon."

"Thanks, Brock," Ash smiled. "I'd better start training now though. I keep getting distracted, and I don't want to go into battle without warming up!"

"Good luck, Ash," Brock said as the trainer walked back towards the Colosseum.

"Hey, Brock..." Ash said, pausing a moment.

"Yes?" the breeder replied.

"Thanks for agreeing to stay here as the official referee for the Battle Colosseum. I couldn't have picked a better choice." Brock smiled.

"Thanks for asking if I could be the one to have the job," he said. "Go on, you need to start warming up. I'll check on the egg that Liza gave you while I look over the rules to make sure that Latias is allowed to compete" Ash laughed.

"Race you," he called to Latias, running towards the training ground at the side of the Colosseum. She chirped happily and tore off after him, Pikachu running behind.

Panting hard, Ash passed by the Colosseum. He was almost in the training grounds when Pikachu shot forwards with a Quick Attack. Momentarily stunned, he paused and Latias took that advantage to knock his feet from under him as she followed Pikachu into the grounds.

He picked himself off of the ground, dismayed by what had happened. He entered the training ground and was surprised to see his six choices for the match already standing in line, waiting for him: Snorlax, looking to see if Ash had brought in any food; Sceptile, leaning casually against a tree with a twig in it's mouth; Charizard, eying the strength of the grass-type and wondering if he'd make a good opponent, despite the type-differences; Gallade, blades crossed across his chest as he waited for the training to begin; Latias, hovering off the ground and in the midst of a conversation with Pikachu, who sat on her back.

"Are you ready guys?" Ash asked them. There was an assorted chorus of cries, chirpings, and roars. "This is the biggest match any of us have ever had," he said to them. "I still remember when Cynthia beat all six of Paul's Pokemon, including his Torterra, while only using her Garchomp. This is going to be really tough, but I know that we can do it!" Charizard greeted Ash's statement with a burst of fire from his mouth. Sceptile glanced sideways at the fire-type, eying his strength.

"Then let's get training!" Ash said. "Now remember, we're just warming up, not actually fighting. Split into pairs and try some practice attacks."

Sceptile and Charizard immediately turned to face each other, the fire-type's tail flame flickering eagerly, the grass-type's mouth relaxed into an easy smile. Snorlax lumbered around the pair to introduce itself to Gallade, who examined the enormous Pokemon with interest. Pikachu tapped Latias on the shoulder and her eyes brightened. She had been afraid that, not knowing any of Ash's Pokemon, they wouldn't want to be around her, or train with her. Pikachu jumped off her back and turned to face her, his red cheeks crackling furiously with electricity.

"Hold up, Pikachu," Ash called, drawing out his PokeDex. "I want to check out Latias's moves first." He scanned Latias, gaining her Dex data before pressing a button on the right to check out what moves she knew.

"Let's see..." he muttered. "Latias, try a Dragonbreath attack on that tree over there," he called. Latias turned to the tree and opened her mouth, forming a green ball that seemed to crackle with power. Charizard, watching carefully out of the corner of his eye snorted disdainfully when she didn't release the attack straight away, almost forgetting to dodge Sceptile's Bullet Seed attack. When Latias judged that she'd stored enough energy she shot the Dragonbreath powerfully. It slammed straight into the tree, burning a hole right through it. Charizard, stunned at the power, stood stock-still and took a Leaf Blade in the shoulder. Stumbling backwards he watched Latias with a new respect in his eyes. By waiting for only a few seconds, she had built up the attack to a power level that could never be achieved by firing straight away, something that he had never thought of.

"That's some power!" Ash exclaimed. "Now, try a Zen Headbutt to knock the tree down; Sceptile, Gallade, when the tree falls slice it apart with your Leaf Blade and Psycho Cut!" Latias lunged at the tree, the top of her head glowing a bright blue and almost seeming to cast a protective sheet of glass over herself. She smashed into the tree and broke through easily; Sceptile and Gallade both leaped forwards, the leaves on Sceptile's arms extended and glowing a bright green, Gallade's blades a shimmering lavender. They both sliced at the tree expertly, and with blinding speed. In almost no time there was a tall pile of firewood standing where the tree had been.

"Excellent!" Ash said happily, failing to notice a large shadow passing over him, although all of his Pokemon noticed it. "You're all really strong," he continued, "you'll be fantastic in the match today!"

"Pigott!" Pikachu said. Ash looked at his friend funnily.

"What did you just say, Pikachu?"

"Pika, chu pikachu," Pikachu said, shaking his head.

"That's funny, I could have sworn that you were talking like a Pidgeotto," he said.

"Er!" Gallade said, pointing one of his blades behind Ash.

"Huh?" he asked, looking extremely confused.

"I think that your Gallade is telling you to look behind you," a familiar voice laughed as she placed her hand on his shoulders. Ash felt his knees grow weak and his face run hot as he turned to look into the laughing sapphire eyes of May.

* * *

**I still don't think that these last two chapters were as good as the first one, but I do think that this is better than Chapter Two. So, Latias is going to be one of Ash's Pokemon, and May has somehow managed to get to the Colosseum in time for Ash's match, even though she was stranded in Cianwood City after a huge storm. I wonder how she got there... could it have been something to do with what Brock and Dawn were talking about in Chapter One? Please review! It doesn't matter if you've already reviewed once - I'd like even more reviews because your thoughts are bound to change as the story does... right? I know that there hasn't been much action up to this point, but that will all change in Chapter Four! **


	4. Buildup

**Here's Chapter Four up! I have to say that I'm really surprised how fast I've been writing and updating, but this may be the last update for a little while (hopefully the hiatus won't last more than a couple of days). The reason is that some of my courses have changed, and so I now have some 'heavier' subjects that will probably give a lot of homework. I'm determined to keep writing and updating as much as possible though. Enjoy!**

* * *

"M-M-May," Ash stammered, completely shocked. 

"A-A-Ash," she laughed back.

"How did you get here?" he asked, somehow managing to string together a coherent sentence.

"I caught a lift from one of your old friends," she said, turning to look at the beautiful hawk-like Pokemon behind her. Ash's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the tan body, and the long, colourful head feathers that cascaded down it's back.

"Pidgeot?" he murmured, taking a couple of steps forward.

"Pigeot!" the flying-type responded, flapping it's wings.

"I... I can't believe it," he said softly. "How come you were in the Johto region? How did you know who May was, and where I was?"

"I think I can answer that, Ashy-boy," he heard an old friend say. Ash whirled around to see his old rival Gary approaching, with Professor Oak and his mother, Delia Ketchum, close behind. "You see," Gary said, "after you told Grandad about the storm and about how May wouldn't be able to come and see your battle today, he told us. We figured that it was just too bad that one of your closest friends wouldn't be able to be there when the rest of us would, so we decided to try and think of a way to get May here."

"That's when Gary had a real brainwave," Professor Oak cut in. "He came up with the idea of sending your old Pidgeot to bring her here. While I got in touch with May at the Cianwood Pokemon Centre, Gary went out to see if he could find you Pidgeot. Tracey had told us that he'd seen it early that morning, so we knew that it was in the area."

"Yeah, it didn't take long to find Pidgeot," Gary said. "Once I was able to explain the situation to it, it was more than happy to go to Cianwood. I took it over to your house because I knew that you have a picture of May in there. Once I found the picture and showed it to Pidgeot, it just took off. I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon move so fast!"

"I didn't know that you had a picture of me, Ash," May said. Ash's stomach jumped a little nervously and he felt his face begin to grow warm again. He quickly turned and looked over at the six Pokemon, noticing that Latias was looking between him and May curiously.

"It's just a picture of you, me, Brock, and Max," he said. "We had it taken when we all met up by accident last year."

"Ohh, that picture," May nodded in comprehension. "I didn't realize that it was so visible - I figured that it would be stuck in a drawer gathering dust or something."

"Eh?" Gary asked. "That wasn't the picture that I was talking about. It was the other one, framed on your de-" Ash's face went beet red. Luckily for him, Latias caused a minor distraction by swooping forwards and knocking Gary's feet out from under him playfully before he could finish the sentence.

While Latias zoomed playfully around Oak, Delia, and Gary, distracting them completely, Ash collapsed to his knees with his head in his hands, groaning silently. _How could I have left that picture out in plain sight?_ he berated himself. _That's so embarrassing that Gary just blurted that out... I hope that May wasn't listening too closely._

"Did I hear something about a picture of me, Ash?" he heard May whisper sweetly into his ear. He went scarlet again, failing to see Sceptile, Charizard, and Gallade all giving each other knowing looks as they stood over him.

"Umm, see, the thing is, I, Pikachu, photo-" he lapsed into an incoherent string of letters and syllables, the only words May actually able to understand being "nice frame," and "put away." She grinned, enjoying his discomfort as he babbled on. Finally, she put her hand over his mouth, forcing him to stop talking.

"That's better," she laughed, taking her hand away. "Come on Ash, concentrate. Look, Dawn's running over. I wonder why she's in such a hurry?" Dawn's rush had caught the attention of Professor Oak, Delia, and Gary too. Latias took the opportunity to escape from their praise and fly playfully around May.

"Ash!" Dawn called out breathlessly as soon as she got close. "Cynthia's here! You've got to greet her before the battle starts, but you'd better hurry, the first people in the audience are already finding their seats and, oh Ash, _is that a Latias!?"_ Ash grinned as she came to a skidding halt in front of the Legendary Pokemon, who eyed her quizzically.

"Thanks for telling me about Cynthia, Dawn," he said as Oak, Delia and Gary began to hurry to the Colosseum. "Where is she?"

"Hmm? Oh, Misty and Max took her to your house. I think she's in the Living Room," Dawn said, still staring at Latias with a look of absolute wonder.

"Thanks Dawn. I guess we should go, huh Pikachu?" he asked his friend.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, jumping onto his shoulder. Ash turned to his Pokemon and quickly returned them all.

"Ash, I'll come with you," May volunteered. Ash stumbled, but caught his footing in time.

"That's okay, May," he said. "You should head into the stands now while there's still time to get good seats. I have some reserved especially for all my friends, and even though I thought you wouldn't be able to come today, I set one aside just in case. Anyways, Latias really seems to like you, so I'll need you to look after her for a little while."

"Alright, Ash," May said, looking a little disappointed. "Good luck today. I'll see you after the match, I guess." She stepped forwards and gave Ash a quick, close hug before turning and heading in the direction of the battlefield, Latias at her side. "Come on Pidgeot," she called, and the flying type took to the air after her, brushing Ash's head lightly with one wing as it passed.

Ash stood there for a moment, still feeling the warmth of May's hug on his body. His cheeks began to glow again.

"Looks like Ash has a _girlfriend_," Dawn grinned, snapping Ash back to reality. He flushed even deeper.

"I do not," he said defensively. "I just haven't seen her in a while, and I'm really glad that she was able to come today."

"Sure," Dawn taunted as she began to head over to Ash's house. "I guess I'll have to go and apologize to Cynthia then, tell her about how you were too busy saying goodbye to your _girlfriend_ to even say hello to her." She giggled to herself and began to run.

"Hey, wait!" Ash shouted, determined to beat her to Cynthia so that she couldn't spread any tall tales about him.

"Pika," Pikachu sighed before taking off after the two humans.

* * *

"Ash," Cynthia said, rising from her seat to shake his hand. "It's good to see you again. Are you ready for our battle?" 

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be!" he said. "You'd better watch out though, Cynthia. You didn't get where you are today by luck, but neither did I! If you think that this match will be easy then you'll have to think again!"

"Just what I wanted to hear!" Cynthia said, pounding her fist into her open hand in excitement as she sat down again. "Win or lose today, Ash, I want you to promise me two things."

"Those being?" Ash asked.

"You'll give this battle everything you have!"

"No worries there," Dawn laughed. "What's the second thing?"

"We'll go out for some ice cream afterwards - you, me, and all of your friends."

"I think that'll be okay," Ash said with a grin. Dawn nodded eagerly.

"Great," Cynthia smiled. She stood and walked to the door. "I'll be waiting in the Colosseum, Ash," she said over her shoulder. "Good luck!" With that, she walked out towards the battlefield.

"Are you ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked as Brock entered the room.

"Pika pika!"

"I've checked the rulebook Ash," Brock said quickly before the trainer could run out the room. "There's nothing that says using Latias is against the rules. You'll be able to use her without any problems."

"Thanks, Brock," Ash said, relief evident on his face. "I was a little worried, but I'm glad that you were able to check for me." He began to walk towards the door, Brock at his side, Pikachu on his shoulder, and Dawn close behind.

"I checked the egg too," Brock said. "It's definitely a Charmander egg. I'm not sure how long it will be until it hatches though. That all depends on the trainer who carries it."

"Well, I already have Charizard," Ash said, "so I think that I'll give the egg to someone."

"Who do you plan on giving it to?" Brock asked. For a moment Ash's face flushed pink, but he quickly managed to get it back to his normal colour, hoping that Brock and Pikachu hadn't noticed.

"There's only one person I could give it to," he said quietly in response.

* * *

May looked out over the battlefield in awe. "It's enormous," she said. "I've never seen a battlefield this size, or this shape either." 

"It was supposed to incorporate portions of each of the four main battlefields used in a regular tournament," Max said beside her. "Grass, Rock, Water, and Ice. The only thing was, they couldn't figure out how to add the Ice part of the field, so they just left it out. They made it this size and shape so that Pokemon would have as much room to manoeuvre as possible. It's one thing using a Caterpie or a Bidoof in a regular-sized battlefield, and another using a Gyarados or a Lapras, who wouldn't have as much room to use their full potential."

"Wow," May whispered.

"Look," Max said, pointing towards the pool. "The pool was put in so that water Pokemon could fight too. I mean, you can use a Blastoise on land, but it's almost impossible to use something like a Lumineon. I think the best parts about the Colosseum is how the fields were melded, and the boundaries. Grass and Rock are always interchanging, so there is no set advantage anywhere on the field."

"Why do you like the boundaries so much?" May asked him.

"They go right up to the walls," she heard a very familiar voice say.

"Dad!" May squealed, turning around. Norman grinned at her, Caroline right next to him.

"We couldn't miss this match," Norman said. "Not after everything Ash has done for us, and you two kids."

"We were so thrilled to get a personal invitation," Caroline beamed. "I really hope Ash wins. Just imagine, he's only one win away from becoming an official Pokemon Master!"

"But as I was saying," Norman said, leaning in to May quickly before Caroline could took the conversation in a different direction, "the boundaries of the battlefield go right up to the walls. That way, a Pokemon can only be declared out-of-bounds if it actually goes into the audience."

"That's a fantastic way to do it," May murmured. "It gives every Pokemon the chance to battle for as long as they can." She frowned as she looked at something that didn't seem quite right. "What are those little black marks scattered on the field?" she asked, realizing what looked wrong. "They're really clustered together in some places."

"I have no idea," Max shrugged. "I never noticed them when I was sparring with Misty earlier." May felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me," a pleasant voice said, "but is that your friend?" May looked beside her and gasped in shock. The girl next to her, wearing a green shirt, and white shorts and hat was leaning dangerously over the edge of the seat trying to get the attention of the four people selling popcorn, drinks, and other snacks who were currently in the section below them - a good ten-foot drop. May seized her and dragged her back into her seat. The girl looked at May with a hurt expression in her eyes.

"Don't do that," May whispered furiously. "You almost fell! What would have happened if you'd done that?"

The girl began flapping her arms soundlessly, with a truly innocent smile on her face.

"You can't do that yet!" May told her. "Remember our plan - you have to stay hidden until Ash calls you. Then you can transform, but not now. It would cause too much mayhem."

Realization crossed the girl's face, and she nodded soundlessly, flattening herself into her seat, but looking almost sulky. May sighed in relief that she wasn't in danger anymore.

"Thanks," she said, turning to the person behind her. Her jaw dropped. "_Anabel?"_ she asked. "What are you doing here, you and -" her eyes ran along the people next to her. "Are all of the Frontier Brains here?" she asked, her eyes taking in Noland, Brandon, and Lucy.

"Most of them," Anabel said, her lavender hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. "Greta is on the other side of the reserved section with Tucker. Spenser is really old now, and he couldn't make the journey. He retired a couple of years ago meaning that there are still seven Frontier Brains, including Ash." May nodded in understanding, wondering briefly how old Spenser really was.

A sudden roar shook the Colosseum. Both scoreboards, one on each side of the battlefield had just lit up. May looked down at the field and saw Brock begin to walk towards the pool in the centre of the field, and Dawn approaching the same spot from the other side.

They met in the centre of the field and Brock raised his arms for silence. "This is a six-on-six match between the Champion Cynthia -" huge roars flooded across the Colosseum again, and the scoreboard lit up to display **CYNTHIA - CELESTIC TOWN** in green - "and the Challenger, Ash!" More screams, and the second-half of the scoreboard lit up to read **ASH - PALLET TOWN** in red. Brock gestured for silence again.

"I am the referee for this event. Our commentator today is Dawn!" The crowd roared again as Dawn waved her hands in acknowledgement, a big smile on her face. "There is no time limit for this match," Brock continued. "Both the champion and the challenger may substitute Pokemon at any time." Dawn took over.

"Both Cynthia and Ash are now approaching the Colosseum," she called out. "Before they get here, the battlefield will make it's final transformation!" She and Brock hurried off the pitch as several mechanical noises filled the air.

Long, curving sections of the battlefield fell below the ground, only to have water from the self-replenishing pool fill the gaps. May gasped. "This really give Water Pokemon a real chance to fight," she said to herself. Then her eyes widened as she saw what all of the black marks were for. They too had dropped into the ground, and now trees of all shapes and sizes were springing up in random locations.

"That must have taken a lot of planning to be able to fit trees into the battlefield, and still enable everyone to see the battle at all times," she heard Norman say.

"It's... fantastic," May murmured, unable to believe the look of the battlefield. Leading from the pool, rivers now ran through the Colosseum. Trees were grouped close together in clusters, or just standing alone as oddballs.

The noise reached levels that made May wince. A gigantic television screen next to each scoreboard had turned on. It was in a split-screen, and two shadowy figures were emerging from the brilliant lights behind them.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. As I've already said, each and every review is vitally important to this story, so I hope that you all keep it up! You wouldn't believe how much your comments have helped me to outline the plot. Chapter Five will hopefully go up in a few days. We'll finally get to see the big battle between Cynthia and Ash!**


	5. Battle

**Chapter Five! It's finally the battle between Ash and Cynthia!**

* * *

The Colosseum erupted in cheering as Ash and Cynthia stepped onto the battlefield from opposing ends of the pitch. It was so loud that May was forced to cover her ears. She glanced sideways and give an inaudible shriek of terror. The girl who sat mutely beside her had jumped up when Ash walked into view and waved her arms wildly at him, once again nearly overbalancing. May groaned and dragged her back from the edge. 

Cynthia stood quietly, a tight smile on her face as she glanced quickly around the battlefield, noting the positions of the rivers, rocks, and trees. Ash was standing opposite her, watching his opponent as she carefully observed the battlefield. A shudder of joy ran through his chest. _This is it,_ he thought. _If I win this battle, I will be a Pokemon Master!_

Two tall platforms now began to raise themselves out of the ground, both coloured jet-black. With Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash began to climb up the platform. As he reached the top and looked out over the battlefield, the audience quieted down a little.

"We will now determine which trainer shall choose their first Pokemon," Dawn's voice broke out, cutting through the little noise that remained. A large wheel with an alternating green-and-red pattern appeared in between the two still photos of Cynthia and Ash on the scoreboard. It began to glow and spin wildly for a moment before slowing down, and finally stopping on a red segment. Up in the stands, May, Max, Misty, Gary, and the rest of Ash's supporters groaned.

"And Ash Ketchum will make the first choice!" Dawn announced. Ash smiled at Cynthia and then looked up at the audience. It was inadvertent, but his gaze met May's. Their eyes locked for a moment, and then with an almost invisible pink tinge on his face, he tore his gaze away. He noted Pidgeot perching on top of the Colosseum before returning his eyes to the battlefield. With a grin, he drew out a Poke Ball and enlarged it with a click.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" he shouted. With a blinding flash of red light, the gigantic Pokemon appeared amongst the rocks. Ash caught his Poke Ball and glanced across at Cynthia, wondering what Pokemon she would pick.

"Gastrodon! To me!" Cynthia called, and in another flash of red light a pink and brown sea slug appeared on a patch of grass.

"Ash has chosen his Snorlax, caught in the Orange Islands, and Cynthia will be starting with her West-Sinnoh Gastrodon!" Dawn informed the crowd.

"Both combatants ready?" Brock asked. He raised both his red and green flags. "Begin!"

"Gastrodon, into the pool!" Cynthia cried.

"Snorlax, cut it off and use Mega Punch!" Ash countered. Gastrodon began to move, rather sluggishly at first but picking up speed as it's six flippers began to move more quickly. Snorlax charged in, it's hand glowing a brilliant white as it formed into a fist.

Ash watched carefully as Snorlax moved around a rock, the large Pokemon running as fast as it could. It would be close, but it looked as if Snorlax would reach Gastrodon before it could jump into the water. Snorlax moved closer, and began to swing it's fist at the giant sea slug.

"Gastrodon, Harden!" Cynthia commanded at the last possible moment. A flash ran over Gastrodon's body, and Snorlax's Mega Punch bounced off harmlessly.

"Snor..." the Pokemon cried in surprise.

"Now use Mud Bomb!" Cynthia shouted. At point-blank range, her Gastrodon fired several blobs of earth which exploded on impact with Snorlax's face, driving it back into the rocks with a force that shattered several of them.

"Snorlax, are you okay?" Ash shouted.

"Lax..." it responded, pawing at it's eyes to try and remove the dirt.

"Try a Headbutt!" Ash decided. Snorlax charged, head down towards the Gastrodon. Cynthia watched immobile as Snorlax ran right past the Gastrodon without even realizing it. "No, it's behind you!" Ash cried out desperately. Snorlax stopped in confusion and looked about, trying to spot it's opponent.

* * *

"Snorlax must have gotten some dirt in his eyes from that Mud Bomb," May realized. 

"You mean it can't see?" Max asked in horror.

"Why else would it have missed Gastrodon like that?" she answered

* * *

"Gastrodon, into the water and use Water Pulse!" Cynthia commanded, believing herself to now be in charge of this round. Gastrodon slipped easily into the pool at the centre of the field and immediately launched a devastating ball of water at Snorlax. 

"Snorlax, run right at it and use Headbutt!" Ash shouted. The crowd gasped in disbelief as Snorlax charged straight for the attack. There was a devastating sound of imploding water and spray splashed in all directions. Ash grinned as the water fell to the ground and revealed Snorlax still running straight towards the pool. Cynthia gaped in disbelief.

"Use Ice Punch!" Ash yelled, and a missive fist of ice crashed down onto the surface of the water. The sheet of water froze and spread across the pool and rivers in the Colosseum.

"Todon," the Gastrodon managed to blurt out before the sheet of ice enveloped it as well, freezing it immobile in the pond.

"What an incredible strategy!" Dawn said in excitement. "Ash used Gastrodon's own Water Pulse to clear Snorlax's vision, and then had Snorlax use Ice Punch to freeze the pool and immobilize Gastrodon!"

"Gastrodon, return," Cynthia said quietly, recalling the frozen Pokemon. "You did a good job wearing down Snorlax, Gastrodon. I can still use you later. Now, Spiritomb! To me!" she called, sending out her second Pokemon. A large purple ghost-type emerged, covered in green circular markings.

"Spir..." it hissed.

"And Cynthia's second Pokemon is the rare Spiritomb, a ghost-dark type!" Dawn informed everyone.

"Use Ominous Wind!" Cynthia ordered. A dark blast of wind emanated from the Pokemon's mouth and swirled at high speed towards Snorlax.

"Snorlax, dodge it!" Ash called out desperately. Snorlax lumbered to get away, but the wind slammed right into the Pokemon, causing no damage at all.

* * *

"I don't get it," Max muttered. "Ominous Wind is a ghost-type attack, and has no effect on normal types. I don't understand why Cynthia would use it, unless..." He gasped and sat bolt upright. 

"What's wrong?" May asked.

"Ominous Wind won't do any damage to Snorlax, but it'll make Spiritomb stronger!" Max told her urgently. It was May's turn to gasp.

* * *

"Snorlax, use a Crunch attack," Ash shouted at his Pokemon. Snorlax began to move towards Spiritomb, mouth open and teeth gleaming purple. 

"Spiritomb, Faint Attack," Cynthia retaliated calmly. The ghost type vanished, causing Snorlax to stop and look to see where it had gone. It reappeared directly behind the normal-type and rammed itself into the small of Snorlax's back. The normal-type stumbled onto it's belly, and rolled over.

"Snorlax, it's time to Rest," Ash said, seeing how little energy it had left.

"Curse, Spiritomb," Cynthia commanded. A look of pain crossed the ghost-type's face as it shrouded itself in a grey mist which extended over to Snorlax.

"Spir..." it hissed in agony, but Snorlax was also beginning to moan in pain as it's recovered health began to fade away. Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. While Snorlax was asleep, he couldn't attack! Could he? It all suddenly clicked in Ash's mind.

"Snorlax, use Sleep Talk!" Ash shouted. Snorlax gave a large yawn, and suddenly the Spiritomb drifted to the ground, eyes closed in it's sleep.

"What?" Cynthia gasped.

"Sleep Talk again!" Snorlax sprang forwards, it's fist glowing icily again. It connected hard with the sleeping ghost-type, knocking it straight out.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle!" Brock announced, raising his green flag to symbolize Cynthia's loss. The picture of Spiritomb on the scoreboard faded, leaving only an outline of the Pokemon.

"Unbelievable!" Dawn shouted out. "Ash was able to command Snorlax to use a Sleep Talk - a difficult move to pull off successfully - which transformed into a Yawn attack, and then an Ice Punch! For those who don't know, Sleep Talk is a little like Assist in that any move used is completely random. It only works if the Pokemon using it is asleep though."

Cynthia recalled her Spiritomb. "Good job, Spiritomb," she said quietly. "I'm sorry that I messed up when I chose your attacks. But that doesn't matter, because my next choice will be all I need! Milotic, to me!"

"Miko!" the beautiful serpent-like water-type sang out as it emerged onto one of the frozen rivers.

"Snorlax, we can do this!" Ash told his Pokemon. "All we need is one good Ice Punch! Snorlax?" The grey mist suddenly tightened over the normal-type and then vanished, leaving it immobile on the ground.

"Snorlax is unable to battle!" Brock ruled, raising his red flag.

"And it looks like Spiritomb's Curse finally took it's toll on Snorlax," Dawn told the crowd. "Let's see what Ash's second choice will be."

"Good job, Snorlax," Ash said with a smile as he recalled it. "You did some damage to Gastrodon, and you took out her Spiritomb. Now, I choose you! Sceptile!"

"Tile!" the grass-type said as it emerged, a twig in it's mouth.

"I hope you don't think that a type advantage will help you win" Cynthia smirked. "I have defences for when I'm at a disadvantage."

"I wouldn't expect any less," Ash shot back. "Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!" The grass-type shot a burst of glowing green seeds towards Milotic.

"Milotic, to the pool!" Cynthia commanded. Awkwardly at first, her Milotic began to slither towards the pool. She gained speed as she moved along the slick surface, just barely avoiding the Bullet Seed.

"Keep it up, Sceptile," Ash said. "Fire your Bullet Seed ahead of Milotic, it won't be able to dodge!"

"Tile," Sceptile responded, and shot another burst of seeds from it's mouth. The attack landed directly in the path of Milotic, the blast knocking her onto dry land.

"Now use Leaf Blade!"

Cynthia glared as she looked down onto the battlefield. Ash was good, much better than she had expected. No matter what she tried, he always seemed to be able to outmanoeuvre her. _Maybe it's the battlefield_, she thought. _He's bound to know it reasonably well, after all, it is his. But if that were true then no trainer would ever beat a Gym Leader_. Suddenly, she saw an opening.

"Milotic," she called, "dive into the water!" At the last possible moment, her Milotic dived into a hole in the ice created by Sceptile's Bullet Seed. The Leaf Blade barely missed. "Now use Ice Beam!" she shouted.

Milotic's head burst back out of the water. She fired an Ice Beam at point-blank range. It smashed into Sceptile, and the grass-type was sent flying.

"Sceptile!" Ash yelled in horror. "Sceptile! Are you okay?"

"Sceptile," the grass-type growled, managing to climb to it's knees painfully.

"Milotic, swim to the centre of the pool and use Aqua Ring, followed by Aqua Tail!" Cynthia shouted.

"Miko," Milotic acknowledged, and then dived under the water again. Her sinuous shape was visible beneath the ice as she made her way to the pool in the centre of the field.

"Sceptile, I know you've taken a lot of damage, but that won't stop us! Solarbeam!" Ash told his Pokemon. The yellow orbs on Sceptile's back began to slowly glow yellow as they absorbed the sunlight.

With a large cracking noise, the ice in the pool was blown skywards by a tornado of revolving water - Aqua Ring. As the shattered ice dropped back down, Milotic's tail glowed a deep blue.

"Your Sceptile's about to be knocked out, Ash," Cynthia smirked. "It can't possibly overcome a bombardment of ice chunks, and Milotic's recovering health. One of the perks of Aqua Ring, I have to say."

Ash gritted his teeth as the Aqua Tail lashed out and connected with the falling ice, sending it soaring at high-speed towards Sceptile. Sceptile watched, grimacing, as the ice approached. Then, it felt the orbs stop taking in energy.

"Tile!" Sceptile shrieked, and the Solarbeam launched. A powerful, pure-white beam shot from Sceptile's mouth. It destroyed the approaching ice chunks, smashed through the Aqua Ring, and made a direct hit with Milotic.

"Look at that power!" Dawn gasped. "That Solarbeam broke through two attacks and scored massive damage against Milotic!"

"Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

"Giga Impact!" Cynthia commanded.

Sceptile shot forwards at an incredible speed, and Milotic charged out of the water, he head covered in a silver aura as she writhed in midair towards her opponent.

"Leaf Blade!" Ash shouted.

_No Leaf Blade can stop Milotic's Giga Impact_, Cynthia thought. Her eyes widened. At the last possible moment Sceptile used the speed of the Quick Attack to dodge Milotic's attack, spin around in midair, and then lash out with a devastating Leaf Blade that sent Milotic crashing to the ground.

"_Milotic!" _Cynthia cried out.

"Finish it with Frenzy Plant!" Ash shouted as Sceptile landed.

"Sceeep TILE!" Sceptile roared, eyes glowing green. Enormous spiny roots shot out of the ground and smashed into Milotic, sending her spinning through the air to crash among one of the rock portions of the battlefield.

"Milotic is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

"What a move!" Dawn cheered. "That Frenzy Plant, the most powerful grass attack of all really shook Milotic up! But Sceptile's definitely looking tired now. We'll have to see how that affects it in the next battle."

* * *

With a huge, pent-up sigh of relief, May relaxed into her chair. She wiped her forehead. Each of Cynthia's Pokemon was more powerful than the last. Only two of hers had been knocked out - although some serious damage had been done to her Gastrodon - but Ash's Snorlax was also out, and Sceptile looked like it was on the point of collapsing. 

"You'll just have to trust in your Pokemon, Ash," she murmured to herself. "I hope you won't be too disappointed if you lose though." The girl next to her tugged her arm. May looked over and saw a look of worry on her face.

"Don't worry," she reassured the girl. "I know that Ash can win. I just hope that his strategy will work out, that's all. I believe he can do it - and that you can too." The girl smiled and looked back towards the battlefield.

* * *

"Good job, Milotic," Cynthia said, recalling her Pokemon. "I won't let you down next time. Now, to me! Roserade!" 

"Rosé," her Roserade announced as it stepped daintily forwards to face the exhausted Sceptile.

"Sceptile, return!" Ash called. "Great job, Sceptile. That Ice Beam took a lot out of you though, and you should rest for later on. Now, Charizard! I choose you!"

In the familiar burst of red light, Charizard emerged. It looked and saw the Roserade standing opposite. Charizard's eyes narrowed. The Roserade didn't look very tough, but Charizard could sense that it was a powerful combatant.

"Are you ready, Charizard?" Ash asked. The fire-type roared. "Into the air!" he shouted. Sweeping it's wings in huge bursts of power, Charizard began to ascend into the sky.

"Roserade, we can fight past the type disadvantage!" Cynthia said calmly. "Use Poison Sting!"

"Rosé," the grass-type acknowledged as it shots streams of purple darts towards the flying Charizard.

"Counter with Flamethrower!" Ash called.

Charizard launched a full breath of fiery flames from it's mouth just in time. The Poison Sting collided with the Flamethrower, but shot straight through, the Flamethrower only slowing the attack down. Charizard was forced to roll in midair to avoid the attack. The slightly slower Roserade wasn't quite as lucky; it was forced to jump backwards to avoid the Flamethrower, but a few streams of the cut-up fire scored a hit on her arm.

"Rade," she hissed in anger, glaring up at Charizard.

"Use a Mega Punch!" Ash shouted. Charizard went into a steep dive, it's fist glowing white.

"Secret Power!" Cynthia retaliated. Roserade held it's two arms together and shot out a gleaming white beam. It smashed into Charizard's wing, sending the Pokemon spinning out of control. With a roar of surprise and pain, Charizard barrelled deep into the ground, sending a gigantic cloud of dust into the air that hid the Pokemon from sight.

"Charizard!" Ash screamed.

* * *

May and Max both leapt up from their seats in horror. "Charizard!" they yelled in perfect timing with Ash. 

"That isn't good," Norman said in a low voice. "Charizard had the momentum of the dive behind it, and the spinning only increased the power. That had to have done a lot of damage."

"It's not over just yet," Anabel said confidently.

"How can you say that?" Max asked. "Charizard was just smashed into the ground!" Anabel winked at him.

"When you've been battling for as long as Ash and Charizard have, you're bound to have a few tricks up your sleeve," she said. "I don't know if you saw it, but I sure did."

* * *

"Roserade," Cynthia said, confident that the victory was hers. "Use Leaf Storm!" A cloud of razor-sharp leaves shot towards the place were Charizard had fallen. All of Ash's supporters watched in horror, Misty and May both closing their eyes to avoid the sight. 

"Flare Blitz!" Ash roared.

A red glow emanated from the huge dust cloud, and Charizard burst into view, wreathed in flames, only his outline visible in a manner similar to when a Pokemon used Volt Tackle. His eyes tinged red, Charizard gave a roar that echoed around the Colosseum and the he launched into a high-powered flight. The Leaf Storm slammed into the high-temperature flames, but not a single leaf touched it's target. Like a sizzling bullet, he struck Roserade dead on. The grass-type smashed through several boulders before coming to rest against the boundary wall.

"Roserade!" Cynthia screamed.

"Roserade is unable to battle!" Brock ruled. "The victor of this round is Charizard!"

"And Ash knocks out his third opponent!" Dawn shouted into the microphone. "Since Cynthia has lost three of her Pokemon, we'll take a ten-minute break to allow her to regroup. We'll see you all back here in a couple of minutes!"

* * *

"How'd you do it, Ash?" Misty demanded. She, May, Max, Noland, Anabel, Professor Oak, Delia, Gary, and the silent girl had all rushed down to his training room as soon as the ten-minute break had been announced. 

"How'd I do what?" he asked innocently.

"How did Charizard not faint when it crashed into the ground like that? I've never seen a Pokemon take damage like that and manage to keep on battling, let alone use a Flare Blitz which hurts it even more!"

Ash shrugged. "I wasn't worried about Flare Blitz because of the training Charizard's done. When I first called Liza and told her I'd need Charizard to battle Cynthia, she told me how Charizard had recently learned that move. I asked her if she could get Charizard to use that attack as often as possible so that the recoil effect wouldn't damage it as much. It's just a fire-type version of Take Down and Volt Tackle, and Pikachu isn't affected by recoil anymore so I figured that with practice it would be the same for Charizard."

"And the crash?" Max asked. Ash smiled, his eyes lighting up in memory. May felt her stomach give a sudden lurch, and looked down in worry. She couldn't possibly be hungry, could she?

"When I fought in the Johto League," Ash said, "I eventually lost against a trainer called Harrison. Charizard used a Seismic Toss on his Blaziken. It would have knocked Blaziken out too, if it hadn't used a Flamethrower to soften it's landing and lessen the impact." Anabel smiled; she had been right.

"Charizard used a Flamethrower to soften his landing just before he hit, right?" she asked. "And the spinning motion meant that more of the ground was hit, and with more power so that it would be as soft as possible."

Ash nodded. "That's right," he said. Then he laughed. May felt the uncomfortable lurch again. "After all of these years of training, me and my Pokemon know each other through and through. We barely even need to communicate with words anymore. Just like someone else I know," he said with a smile at Anabel. At once, the lurching in May's stomach transferred to her heart. She grabbed at it a little unsteadily, hoping nobody else would notice her sudden movement. What was wrong with her?

"The ten minute break is up!" they suddenly heard Dawn say over the loudspeaker. "Audience - back to your seats! Champion Cynthia and Challenger Ash, you are requested to return to the battlefield!"

Ash stood up and stretched. "I'm sure feeling good about this," he said. "Three of Cynthia's Pokemon are down, and I still have five of my six left. I'll see you guys after the match!" May watched as Ash turned and walked up towards the Colosseum, while everyone else filed past her to reach the audience section again. She suddenly felt someone clutch her hand, and turned to see the silent girl trying to motion in the direction that everyone else had gone.

"Thanks," she sighed, and began to walk slowly back to her seat, the girl following behind with a very puzzled look on her face. No sooner had she sat down then she felt Anabel tapping her on the back.

"Are you alright, May?" she asked. "You're looking a little sad."

"I'm fine," she sighed. Anabel looked at her and gave a fleeting smile.

"I'm sure that I'm not the only one who noticed that Ash was wearing half a ribbon around his neck," she said to May. Although May's expression didn't change, her lurching heart suddenly seemed to feel lighter.

* * *

"Trainers, it's time to choose your next Pokemon!" Dawn announced. 

"Gastrodon, to me!" Cynthia called, and her Pokemon appeared for the second time. Ash smiled.

"Latias, I choose you!" he shouted out, accompanied by a gasp of surprise that arose from nearly every throat in the Colosseum. The silent girl next to May suddenly shimmered in a silver light. Moments later, Latias had appeared. She looked over to May.

"Do your best," May whispered, giving the legendary Pokemon a thumbs-up. Latias chirped and floated down to stand in front of Ash.

"A Latias, eh?" Cynthia said to herself. "I never even considered that he could be using a legendary!" She berated herself quietly for a few more seconds before looking back out over the battlefield. "Gastrodon, use Rain Dance!" she commanded.

Clouds gathered, and slowly rain began to fall. Cynthia smiled. With the Rain Dance in effect, Gastrodon could move about much more easily on land. The rain stopped.

"Gastrodon, what's wrong?" she called out in worry. Her Pokemon could only look about itself in a bewildered manner. "Try Rain Dance again!" she ordered. Again her Gastrodon used the attack, but the rain stopped after only a few seconds.

Ash looked around confused. The rain clouds were still there, but no rain was falling. _It doesn't make sense_, he thought. _What could stop a Rain Dance?_ He frowned as he looked across at Cynthia, unwilling to attack while her Pokemon's abilities were prevented from being used. Latias suddenly chirped anxiously, pointing her arms towards the sky that lay beyond Cynthia, beyond the Colosseum.

One small patch of sky was completely clear; Ash could the sun sparkling through. It was weaving towards the Colosseum erratically. He rubbed his eyes, but the moving patch of sunlight continued to soar through the clouds in a zigzag pattern. He heard a roar off in the distance and went cold at the sound of it. The crowd had also heard and began to whisper in confusion as they looked around themselves for the source.

A girl suddenly screamed, pointing up at the moving patch of sunlight. As one, the crowd followed her gaze. Cynthia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she slowly turned around.

Flying at a very low altitude, a Rayquaza appeared over the edge of the Colosseum, an unusual glint in it's eyes. The crowd went numb at the sight of the rare and powerful Pokemon. The Rayquaza looked around at the spectacle in front of it with a confused expression. It took in the huge number of people gathered, the battlefield, and the two Pokemon who stood on it.

With a demonic roar of anger the Rayquaza blasted a Hyper Beam into the Colosseum.

* * *

**What, you thought the story was going to end after the battle? I'm afraid not - as I've said, this story is much deeper and more complex than a final battle with Cynthia. I think I can say with confidence that this fanfic is only just beginning. As usual, please review (even if you already have on one of the other chapters)! Your feedback is important, and it helps me to know how clear (or mysterious) this story is.**


	6. Mission

**Here's Chapter Six, hot off the press! It may seem a little short, but thats because it is (only Chapter One is shorter at the moment). I'm afraid that I'm going to leave you hanging on the edge of Chapter Five though.**

* * *

The man leaned casually back in his chair, his back to the office door as he looked through the gigantic window, out over the mountainous landscape. There was a slight knock on the door, barely audible. 

"Enter," he called without turning around. Two people stepped nervously into the room; a woman with long orange hair, and man with short green hair. Both wore black uniforms. They waited for several moments, but the man who had called them in gave no inclination of turning around.

"You asked to see us, Boss?" the man with green hair asked awkwardly. Slowly, the Boss turned around. Both the man and the woman gulped inadvertently. He was a gigantic person, tall and broad-shouldered but without a trace of fat on him. He cast a forbidding aura everywhere he went. Here, in his headquarters, he was at his most dangerous. The man and the woman both knew that on a whim they could be promoted... or killed.

"You have both been with Team Rocket for quite a while, haven't you," the Boss said quietly. It was not a question that needed an answer. "I've been looking through the records of my employees for a little while now," he continued, "and overall your work has been satisfactory. There have been a few... incidents, for lack of a better word, but you two have proven yourselves loyal."

"Tha-thank you, Boss," the woman began, but he raised a finger for silence.

"Hitches like the breeding centre ten years ago, and that disaster in the Whirl Islands eight years ago never leave the records. You recall what happened?"

Both the man and the woman nodded dumbly. The future had been bright. They were high-up in the organization, and role models to many of the newer recruits. Then had come the Whirl Islands. A legendary Pokemon had been within their grasp, but at the last second was set free by a couple of kids. That had left them humiliated, and discredited. If it hadn't been for Professor Namba's belief in their work, they might have been removed from the organization entirely. As it was, they were only demoted a few positions and assigned to work under Professor Namba permanently.

He had given them a second chance when it came to capturing legendary Pokemon. Only a year after the Whirl Islands they had been sent to the Sevii Islands. Professor Namba had calculated the migration of another legendary Pokemon, done painstakingly over years and years from nothing more than eyewitness accounts. They had tricked a Moltres fanatic, Silver, who wanted to battle the legendary Pokemon into leading them to the top of Mount Ember, an active volcano. There they had almost captured the legendary bird when Silver had been joined by one of the kids that had stopped them in the Whirl Islands. Moltres escaped, and they had been forced to flee the island before the volcano erupted, only narrowly escaping with their lives. After that, even Namba had discredited them, and they had done lowly grunt work for the organization ever since.

"The Whirl Islands and Mount Ember were not just black marks for yourselves," the Boss said calmly, "they were marks of failure on the whole organization. The two of you alone have caused irreparable damage to our reputation around the world."

The man and the woman looked at each in fear. What was going to happen?

"However, those mishaps aside, your work has been impeccable. That is why I am restoring you back to the ranks you had before the Whirl Islands."

"Boss..." the man gasped out gratefully. The Boss ignored him.

"Before I do that, however, there is one task that you must complete."

"Whatever it is, we'll do it!" the woman said without hesitation. The Boss smiled slowly; it froze their hearts.

"Good..." he whispered sibilantly, "very good... I was looking through my records and have found a partnership that, unlike you, has done nothing but cost me money for ten years now. They haven't brought in a single Pokemon - save a worthless Togepi. They claim that they are chasing down an extremely rare and powerful Pikachu; as if I couldn't just go outside with a Poke Ball and Thunder Stone to get myself a more powerful Raichu! Their costs are exorbitant! The three of them alone spend a quarter of our income every year!"

"What do you want us to do with them, Boss?" the man asked. The Boss's eyes glinted.

"I want them _dead_!" he snapped, his fist crashing down hard on the table. In the far corner, a Persian cowered at the sight of his wrath.

"Dead?" the woman repeated incredulously.

"Do you have a hearing problem?" the Boss asked impatiently. "I want them dead - not humiliated, not discredited, not demoted. Stone-cold dead! Clear?"

"Yes Boss!" the man and the woman both shouted, snapping to attention.

"Good," he said, swivelling his chair back to the window. "Last I heard, they were in the vicinity of Viridian City. Now, get out of my sight."

The man and the woman both sprinted for the doors, wrenching them open as fast as they dared, but closing them as softly as was humanly possible. They looked at each other, shock reflected in their pupils.

"I don't think I can become a murderer," the man blurted out.

"Neither do I, Butch," the woman said as she began to walk slowly down the halls. "I've always hated that arrogant Jessie, but not to the point where I could kill her. I mean sure I've wanted her out of my life, but... dead?"

"I don't know, Cassidy," Butch said almost sadly as he caught up to her. "I've never really had anything against James, apart from the fact that he always screws up my name. I mean, sure he always tries to usurp us so that he'll get the credit, but I've gotten the feeling that it's mainly because of Jessie egging him on. I can't kill the guy."

"We don't have a choice, Butch," Cassidy said quietly. "It's either their lives or ours, and I'd prefer to stay alive for as long as possible." She sighed and grabbed a broom from a nearby closet. "Come on," she said. "We've got one last word detail shift to do before we head out. Where are we scheduled to clean?" Butch took a look at his pocket calendar and groaned.

"Professor Namba's lab," he said.

* * *

"So, you two are about to be promoted again from what I hear, eh?" asked Namba. 

"Yes, Professor Numbo, we have a-" Cassidy began.

"It's NAMBA!" he shrieked. "When will you get it right? Why don't people ever learn a name anymore? It's completely disrespectful, don't you agree Boff?"

"Actually, Professor Namba, my name is Butch," he said. Cassidy winced.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Namba screamed, beside himself with rage. "If I ask you to agree with me, you agree with me! Got it?"

"Yes, Professor Namba," Butch replied sullenly. Abruptly, Namba's temper ceased.

"Good," he said. "Now, the two of you will be pleased to know that once you have been promoted back, you will be working for me again." Butch and Cassidy both gave silent groans. "You will also be pleased to know two other important things - my research on the Pokerus has finally been completed, even without the co-operation of that numbskull Oak. Also, we have finally managed to capture Silver!" Butch jerked his head upright in shock.

"Silver?" he repeated disbelievingly.

"Do you have a hearing problem?" Namba demanded, echoing the Boss.

"How did you do it, Professor?" Cassidy asked quickly. Namba snorted.

"With some amazing skill and bribery," he said. "If those kids decide to interfere again, we'll have Silver to warn them off. Good thing we do too, I hear one of them is now a Master!"

"A Master?" Cassidy gasped with a stunned expression. Namba gave a suspicious look towards her ears.

"Aren't you finished yet?" he suddenly demanded. "This floor looks spotless. Get out, go! I have work to do and you aren't privy to it yet." Reluctantly, Cassidy and Butch both saluted and exited the office.

* * *

The caped being stood in the shadow of the building's flag spire, many stories above the ground. Even though it was broad daylight, here he was hidden from view of pedestrians or office workers. He groaned mentally and sat down in the shade, head buzzing with tiredness. Despite trying to become nocturnal for over seven years now, he still had a lot of difficulty falling asleep in the daytime. 

He hated stealing, especially human food, but he did it to survive. Few fruit trees grew in the city, but he lived there because it was the safest place for him to be. If they somehow found those hidden memories and looked for him again, he was certain that they would search the desolate wilderness, not a bustling urban area. The city made him sick.

_How can they live with each other?_ he wondered. _They steal, they fight, they hurt. The street bully is no different from the shopkeeper who raises his prices for the poor. I still to survive; they steal for gain._ He sighed and shook his tired head. _Humans have a choice in life, a choice that was never given to me. Yet they use that choice for evil purposes, just to hurt each other... Why?_

He groaned again as the wind blew, ruffling his long cape. He looked out over Viridian City and felt a sudden spear of pain in his chest. He shook his head to clear it and then sealed his mind, fighting against the unexpected lancing. He didn't know why it had started yesterday, but since it began he had experienced it every couple of hours. Almost against his will, he looked to the west. For some strange reason, ever since the pain began he had felt drawn to Tohjo Falls, as if he needed to go there.

_Later,_ he decided. Maybe it was time to move to another town again. For the last seven years he had been on the move from town to town, visiting distant places in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Frayen, and even Fiore. He never stayed in any one place for longer than a month. It was too risky that he could be sighted, and his appearance reported. And humans who knew they were being robbed had unusually sharp eyes.

Another wave of drowsiness washed over him and he leaned his head forwards until his chin touched his chest. He closed his eyes and finally felt the warm embrace of sleep.

_Tonight_, he decided before dropping off, _I'll move on to Cerulean City_.

* * *

**As ever, please review! Surprised that this chapter didn't focus on Ash? Well if it did, that wouldn't do much for such a long story would it? (Especially with my plot in mind). Things are starting to get a little complex, eh? I'm still wondering what caused that storm in Chapter One...**


	7. Escape

**We now return to the fight against Rayquaza. This chapter is part of a double-upload, along with Chapter Eight.**

* * *

The silence was complete. The entire Colosseum stared completely awestruck at the legendary Rayquaza that had suddenly appeared. It stared down at them, a confused look on it's face, it's eyes glinting unusually. It gave a small, almost imperceptible shudder noticed by only a few people. Then, with a roar of rage, it reared back and fired a devastating Hyper Beam into the Colosseum. 

The attack tore across the field, scoring a deep gouge. The crowd descended into chaos, every human trying to be the first to leave the Colosseum in their panic. The Rayquaza dove into the open-aired building and swooped down low over the crowd, instilling even more fear into them. Only Ash's supporters had remained where they were, standing in stunned disbelief as the Rayquaza released another unprovoked attack, this time knocking down several of the trees on the battlefield.

Anabel gave a scream of fear as a man in the row behind her stumbled and slammed into her, off-balance. She toppled over and crashed into May, sending both of them over the edge of the barrier and plummeting to the field below. Like lightning, Brandon and Lucy both lunged forwards and seized the two girls, pulling them up to safety.

"Anabel, are you okay?" Brandon asked in concern. She stared up at him, eyes glazed for a moment. She shook her head, fighting back the fear, and gave a silent nod.

"May?" Lucy asked, saying as little as ever.

"I'm okay too," May gasped, her hand over her pounding chest. "Thanks." Lucy nodded and turned to Brandon. He eyed her with a grim smile on his face and withdrew three Poke Balls.

* * *

The Rayquaza turned and floated over the centre of the battlefield. It shuddered again and blindly shot down a third Hyper Beam. Latias gave out a scream of fright as it headed directly towards her. 

"Latias!" Ash screamed. A huge cloud of dust and wind swarmed past him from the resulting explosion. Pikachu was forced to hold on to Ash's jacket as tightly as it could, and Ash felt himself sliding backwards. A dull light began to shine through the dust as it cleared and the wind died down. Ash squinted, rubbing his eyes to free them from the grit. He suddenly realized that Latias had protected herself by using Safeguard, although the impact from the Hyper Beam had still managed to force her backwards.

"Pikachu," Ash said, turning to face his friend who had only just hauled himself back onto Ash's shoulder. "Get to the Pokemon field where we trained today. The rest of my Pokemon are in there. I need all of them, even the thirty Tauros, to get in here now."

"Pika," Pikachu rejected the idea, red cheeks sizzling with energy as he glared up at the Rayquaza who was once again flying low over the crowd, roaring angrily. Ash winced as the Rayquaza's tail caught one woman, sending her flying through the air, screaming in terror.

"Just do it!" Ash yelled. "I need all of them to help me hold off Rayquaza so that everyone can escape. You can help me when you get back, but you're the only Pokemon I have on me right now who is can get there and back without being seen!"

Pikachu looked up at his trainer for a moment. Ash's expression gave no room for argument. Pikachu nodded and sprang off of Ash's shoulder, racing for the tunnel which would lead him out of the Colosseum and towards the training field.

Ash glared up at the Rayquaza. "Rayquaza, I challenge you!" he shouted into the sky. As the Rayquaza turned around to look for this new shout, Ash saw something which made his stomach clench. On the left arm of the Rayquaza was a horrible burn which looked as if it had been made very recently.

"Gallade! Charizard! Sceptile! I choose you!" he shouted, throwing three Poke Balls into the air. On que, the three of them burst out of their Poke Balls to land alongside Latias, Sceptile still breathing a little heavily. The Rayquaza glared down at them all, rage and pain in his eyes, along with something else, something that Ash couldn't identify.

Behind the Rayquaza, Ash saw two more flashes of red light and realized that Cynthia had sent out her two remaining Pokemon to battle as well. The Rayquaza swooped closer down to Ash and his Pokemon, then wheeled and climbed quickly. It was barely more than dot in the sky when Hyper Beams began to fall to the ground like rain. Several more gouges were torn into the battlefield; holes were blown through the Colloseum's walls. The faint, sickly smell of smoke reached Ash's nostrils, and with a mixture of sadness and horror, he realized that his Colosseum was burning.

He climbed down off of the platform and walked onto the battlefield. He tapped Charizard on the back and motioned to him. Charizard gave a nod and Ash climbed onto his back. "Into the air, Charizard!" he shouted, and with sweeping strokes of his wings, the fire-type lifted off of the ground. Ash fished out his Poke Dex and flipped it over the Rayquaza, which was still hovering high in the sky over the Colosseum - he knew that it was a legendary Pokemon, but that was all he knew.

Frowning, he manipulated the Poke Dex to see what kind of attacks would be best against Rayquaza. _Fantastic,_ he thought. _Rayquaza's only weak against Dragon and Ice. I guess that means that Charizard and Latias are going to have to use their Dragonbreath's, and that Sceptile won't be able to do much damage._

"Ash!" he heard Brock call. He turned and saw the breeder hurrying towards him, Dawn close behind. "Don't tell me you're going to battle Rayquaza, please don't tell me that," he said as he drew close. Somehow, Ash managed to give him a grin.

"Guess I'd better not say anything, then," he said, trying and failing to make a joke.

"_Look out!"_ Dawn screamed. Ash turned back to the sky and saw a Hyper Beam roaring towards him.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower; Gallade, Psychic!" he rapped out. Charizard's Flamethrower collided with the Hyper Beam. Gallade quickly used his Psychic to strengthen the fire-attack long enough to cause a harmless explosion in midair.

"Then I'm battling too," Brock said, grabbing one of his Poke Balls, face grim. Ash leaned over Charizard's back and caught his arm.

"No," he said, "you get out of here; Dawn too. All those people who were in the audience must be scared out of their minds. I need you two to try and calm them down so that there aren't any accidents."

"Lucario, Force Palm!" they heard Cynthia shout faintly from the other side of the battlefield, distracting the Rayquaza for the moment.

"But you can't battle by yourself!" Brock shouted.

"I'm not battling!" Ash shouted right back, his nerves fraying to the breaking point. "I'm just holding it off until everyone gets to safety! Pikachu's gone to get my other Pokemon. We can hold Rayquaza off with Cynthia attacking from the other side. I need you and Dawn away from here." Brock gazed into his friend's eyes for a moment. They were tight with fear, but Brock knew that Ash would stay until he knew for sure that everyone had. He nodded.

"Come on, Dawn," he said.

"Are you mad?" Dawn screamed at him. "We can't leave him here alone!"

"He's not alone!" Brock snapped back. "He's got all of his Pokemon, and Cynthia to back him up. We can't help him. What we need to do is get everyone to safety."

"Ash!" May shouted, running up to the three of them, the other six Frontier Brains, Max, Misty, and Gary close behind.

"Get away, May," Ash said, not looking at her.

"Wh-what?" May asked as she came to a dead halt, not believing what she had just heard.

"I said get away. You need to get to safety. I can't stall Rayquaza if I know that you, or any of my friends are in danger."

"I'm not going anywhere," May snapped at him, hands on her hips. "I'm not leaving one of my best friends to battle a legendary Pokemon by himself!" Ash swore and looked around at the sky which was beginning to darken with smoke, not answering her. It only took him a moment to find what he was looking for.

"Pidgeot!" he shouted. The hawk-like Pokemon somehow managed to hear him over the noise of Rayquaza battling Cynthia's Lucario and Garchomp simultaneously. It dove down like a bullet. Ash tossed up a Poke Ball, and Pidgeot immediately understood. It flew directly for the Poke Ball, capturing itself. The Poke Ball dropped back to Earth and Ash caught it. He immediately sent his old friend back out in a beam of red light.

"Pidgeot, take May back to Pallet Town," he said, not looking at her. May gasped, and Ash's chest suddenly felt as if it was caught in a vice. "Take her to the lab... make sure she's safe... go." His voice broke.

"Pigeo," the flying-type acknowledged. It swooped down towards May and grasped her arms delicately in it's talons.

"Wha- Ash, no! Don't do this!" May screamed. "Don't do this to me!"

"GO!" Ash shouted to Pidgeot. In a trice, the bird Pokemon accelerated and was gone.

"Pika!" he heard Pikachu calling through the smoke.

"Over here!" he called back, turning towards the sound. In a moment, all of his Pokemon were crowding below him.

"Tauros, I want all of you to take one person here and take them back to Pallet Town! Try and find Professor Oak and Mom on the way out."

"Ash, what are you doing?" Misty asked quietly. He ignored her.

"Corphish, Muk, Sceptile, Swellow, Noctowl, Bayleef, Heracross, Ambipom, Staraptor, Torkoal, Donphan, Grotle; all of you are going with them." They all gave various shouts of surprise.

"We're not going without you!" Max shouted up at him.

"Yes, you are!" Ash snapped back, tired of this arguing now. Max opened his mouth again, but Brock clamped his hand over it and dragged him onto the nearest Tauros, before climbing onto one himself. Dawn looked around the group nervously. She shrugged and climbed onto another, followed by Misty.

"Tauros, go!" Ash shouted. Slowly, twenty-three of the herd began to canter towards the exit. He looked down at the Pokemon he had told to go with them; not a one had moved a muscle. "Don't you understand?" he asked. "I need all of you to protect them in case Rayquaza gives chase, and to make sure that they're all okay when they get back to Pallet!"

Sceptile looked up at his trainer. He hated what he knew he had to do, but he did it nonetheless. He followed his trainer's orders, trailing the Tauros. The other Pokemon looked around unsure, but the respect that Sceptile commanded in all of them forced them to move. Slowly, sadly, and against everything in their hearts, each and every one of the Pokemon that Ash had ordered to move followed Sceptile's lead.

Soon, only Ash, Gary, seven Tauros, the Frontier Brains, and the rest of Ash's Pokemon were left. Ash looked back over towards Cynthia. It was difficult to tell through the smoke, but it looked as if she was losing - badly.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Ash," Gary said quietly, also looking towards Cynthia.

"You should have gone with everyone else," Ash responded. Gary gave a snort.

"Every time you win a championship, I bring you back to earth by beating you," Gary said. "I figure that you could use some of that strength now." Ash thought about arguing the point, but gave in. He was glad to have Gary's support.

"We aren't going either," Tucker said, stepping forwards in his extravagant costume.

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"We're Frontier Brains too," Brandon said, moving to stand at Tucker's side. "We never leave one of our own behind. Besides, if you're battling a legendary you may need one or two on your side." At this, Ash smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"_Garchomp!"_ they heard Cynthia scream.

"Looks like it's time for the main event, oish!" Greta remarked as the Rayquaza turned to face them all. Ash quickly turned to his remaining water-types.

"Kingler, Totodile, I need both of you to try and put out the fires. Use your Water Guns to do it."

"To-to-to-to-to-to-to-da!" Totodile grinned toothily, dancing from foot-to-foot. It raced off for the closest fire, Kingler following close behind.

"Charizard, Glalie, Gallade, Pikachu, Cyndaquil, Latias, get ready to fight," Ash said grimly.

"Go, my friends Metagross, Alakazam, Espeon!" Anabel called

"Regice, Registeel, I need your assistance!" Brandon shouted.

"Swampert, Arcanine, it's time!" Tucker said, releasing his two Pokemon.

"Milotic, Piloswine, I choose you!" Lucy called out.

"Medicham, lets go!" Greta yelled.

"Rhydon, Golduck, Manectric - battle!" Noland shouted.

"Blastoise, I choose you!" Gary shouted.

With a roar of surprise at the sudden number of Pokemon facing it, the Rayquaza hovered uncertainly. It shuddered, and for the third-time Ash caught sight of the movement. Then, moving into a speedy dive, the Rayquaza shot downwards, releasing a powerful Dragon Pulse towards the eight trainers that stood against it.

* * *

**I'm not entirely sure about the flow of this chapter, I don't think it reads too well. But, at least it sets you up nicely for Chapter Eight (there's no way I can put off the Rayquaza battle now, is there?) Please review - you probably know all of my arguments off by heart now.**


	8. Fire

**Chapter Eight, uploaded right alongside Chapter Seven. Aren't double-uploads nice?**

* * *

May struggled as hard as she could against Pidgeot's grip. "Let me down, Pidgeot!" she shouted.

"Pigeot," the bird Pokemon refused, shaking it's beautiful head from side to side.

"You have to take me back!" she pleaded. "I can't leave all of my friends behind!" In response, Pidgeot wheeled and began to fly back towards the Colosseum. May sighed with relief - Pidgeot was taking her back. Below, heading in the direction of Pallet, she suddenly saw a crowd of Tauros and an assorted mix of other Pokemon. She could see Max, Misty, Brock, Dawn, Delia, Professor Oak, Norman, Caroline, and three people she didn't know clinging tightly to the Tauros that they were riding on. She sighed again, this time with frustration. Pidgeot turned again, and headed back to Pallet Town, far outstripping the slower Tauros.

"Why did you do it, Ash?" she whispered to herself. "Why did you have to send everyone to Pallet, and stay behind?" She looked down at the half-ribbon she usually wore as a necklace under her shirt. A confusing jumble of emotions began to collect in her mind. Deep within, she realized that Ash had forced them all away because he cared about them. She knew that he wouldn't be able to battle Rayquaza for long if he was distracted by worry.

"Please be okay, Ash," she whispered. "I promise I won't be mad if you just come home safe."

Pidgeot stopped suddenly in mid-air. May gave a little shriek as she felt herself swing forwards in the air, but Pidgeot held her safely.

"What was that for?" she shouted up angrily.

"Pigeo..." Pidgeot responded, sounding almost in shock. May followed Pidgeot's gaze and gasped.

"Pidgeot, turn around," she ordered. "We've got to tell the others!"

* * *

Cynthia watched bitterly as the Rayquaza turned to face the seven Frontier Brains and the young Professor, grinding her fist into her palm in anger at her helplessness. . All of her Pokemon were out of the fight, and there was nothing more that she could do. She had bought Ash the time he needed to make sure that everyone got away safely. Now, it was time for her to leave, too.

* * *

Ash turned to his remaining seven Tauros. "Head back to Pallet Town," he told them. "Rey and her parents may have been in the crowd today, and they might need a ride back." As the Tauros stampeded off, Ash clutched at the half-ribbon he wore as a pendant. _I hope you understand why I had to force you to go_, he thought quietly. He felt his emotions begin to well up again, and was barely able to force them down; he needed to focus on the battle. The Rayquaza roared, and Ash looked up to see a massive Dragon Pulse roar down to meet them. 

"Charizard, Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

"Arcanine, use your Fire Blast!" Tucker roared out. Charizard and Cyndaquil both shot forth a long stream of fire; Arcanine's star-shaped Fire Blast wrapped around them and the three melded attacks shattered burst apart the Rayquaza's powerful Dragon Pulse. "Excellent!" Tucker shouted. "Now Swampert, go after Totodile and Kingler; they'll need your Water Pulse!" The Swampert nodded and ran off on all fours in the direction that Totodile and Kingler had taken.

"Regice, use your Ice Beam!" Brandon told his Pokemon.

"Piloswine, Milotic, you too," Lucy ordered.

"Glalie, Icy Wind!" Ash commanded. The three separate Ice Beam's shot up into the sky, sped up by the Icy Wind, and struck Rayquaza; one in the chest, one on the tail, and one on the arm. Rayquaza roared in pain and reeled upwards as the Icy Wind then slammed into it, pellets of ice smashing against it's entire body.

Rayquaza dove downwards, hatred in it's eyes as it set off a barrage of Hyper Beam's.

"Latias, Safeguard! Charizard, Cyndaquil use Flamethrower against those Hyper Beams! Pikachu, Thunderbolt them back! Glalie, aim your Ice Beam at Rayquaza, and Gallade, you use your Psychic to guide it!" Ash shouted.

"Piloswine, Milotic, use your Ice Beams too!" Lucy told her Pokemon.

"Registeel, stand in front of the attacking Pokemon and use Iron Defence to shield them! Regice, fight back Hyper Beam with one of your own!" Brandon commanded.

"Metagross, guide Piloswine's and Milotic's Ice Beams with your Psychic; Espeon, use Zap Cannon!"

"Manectric, Thunder those Hyper Beams away!" Noland called.

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!" Gary ordered.

A medley of attacks burst skywards. They collided with the many Hyper Beams and the power of colliding attacks caused a series of explosions, the smoke from which blanketed the Rayquaza from view. Some of the Hyper Beam's broke through and hurtled towards the trainers. Registeel used it's Iron Defence to absorb the attacks and protect the Pokemon and trainers behind it; Latias did the same with her Safeguard.

Gallade and Metagross worked together to coax the Ice Beam's through the thick smoke. Although they couldn't see the Rayquaza, they could sense it's position with their Psychic. They were rewarded by hearing shrieks of pain and rage from the Rayquaza.

Then it was gone. The eight trainers and their Pokemon stood stock-still listening intently.

"Charizard, blow the smoke away," Ash ordered. Charizard reared backwards and began to flap his wings as hard as he could. The smoke cleared slowly. They all looked around in confusion. The Rayquaza had vanished. Gary sighed in relief and was about to speak when the smell of burning once again blew in their direction.

"We've got to get out of here," Brandon stated, recalling his Regice and Registeel. "The Colosseum is burning rapidly; I don't think that the water types will be able to stop it."

"Kingler and Totodile!" Ash shouted in panic, running off quickly in the direction they had gone, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Ash!" Gary yelled, moving to go after him.

"No!" Tucker grabbed Gary's arm. "It's too dangerous! I'll go after him, I need to find my Swampert anyways." Gary scowled back.

"I have Blastoise - it won't take long for Hydro Pump to put out the fire." He turned to the rest of the Frontier Brains. "You guys should all clear out; wait for us outside the Colosseum. There's no need to risk any more lives."

Anabel opened her mouth to protest, but Brandon beat her to it. "He's right," he said, looking at Anabel, Noland, Greta, and Lucy. "We'd only get in the way; none of our Pokemon can take that heat."

Lucy deliberately recalled her Milotic, but Brandon shook his head at her expression. "There is no water inside the Colosseum hallways," he stated. "Your Milotic would not be able to move."

"I'm not going without Ash," Anabel said firmly. Brandon grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Do not let your personal feeling for the boy get in the way of your reason!" he snapped as Anabel struggled to get free. She stopped moving, although small red patches had appeared on her cheeks. "Greta, Noland, Lucy; recall your Pokemon. We need to go." He walked towards the exit, not looking back.

Noland looked at the two woman and gave a small sigh. He recalled his three Pokemon and began to follow Brandon. Greta and Lucy both scowled their disagreement but followed suit and left the battlefield, Anabel's Metagross, Alakazam, and Espeon behind them.

Gary looked over at Ash's Pokemon. "Go with them," he said quietly. "There's nothing more any of you can do." Reluctantly, all save Gallade, Latias, and Charizard followed the Frontier Brains. Not even checking to see if Ash's Pokemon were obeying, Gary and Tucker raced off after Ash; Gallade, Charizard, and Latias looked at Gary and Tucker, at the retreating Pokemon and Frontier Brains, and finally at each other. Without a sound, they took off in hot pursuit of Gary and Tucker. As soon as they reached the hallways behind the battlefield, just barely behind the Professor and the Frontier Brain, they found themselves surrounded in a thick blanket of smoke.

"Blastoise, use your Rapid Spin to clear the smoke away," Gary called to his Pokemon.

"Blast," the water-type acknowledged and withdrew into it's shell, rotating rapidly. The smoke quickly cleared and Gary, Tucker, and Gallade raced on into the depths of the building. Charizard roared in frustration; it was too big to go inside. Latias tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow her. She took off into the sky and flew over the walls, landing just inside the training field.

Charizard was close behind, and let out a roar of horror; the house that Ash had been living in recently was consumed in flames, and through the window Charizard could see Ash laying on the ground, apparently unconscious, holding the egg canister in his arms. Totodile was dancing around him in panic as Kingler tried desperately to put out the fire that surrounded them.

Latias flew to the other side of the building and saw Tucker's Swampert lobbing a mixture of Water Pulses and Water Guns at the house, trying to put out the fire from the outside even as Kingler worked on the inside. She found Pikachu standing nervously next to Swampert, watching the efforts with fear in his eyes.

It was then that Charizard decided to do something extremely drastic. He climbed into the air quickly, trying to gain as much height as he dared. He tilted himself into a steep, fast dive, aiming for the room next to the one that he knew Ash was in.

* * *

Gary and Tucker reached an intersection in the building. The lights above them crackled menacingly with electricity; the fuses were beginning to blow from the heat and the smoke. 

"Gallade!" Gary shouted, "can you sense where Ash is?" Gallade closed his eyes and reached out with Psychic, probbing every inch of the Colosseum grounds, trying to find Ash and the best way to reach him. His eyes snapped open.

"Er!" he nodded, and ran off in the direction he had sensed, Gary and Tucker close behind.

"Could you sense Swampert?" Tucker asked as he ran. Gallade nodded and motioned forwards again with his blades. They followed Gallade and ran through several clouds of smoke; they were stopped by a small fire at one spot, but it was quickly extinguished with a Hydro Pump. At last, they burst out into clear air, facing the training field and the flaming house. At that exact moment, Charizard slammed headfirst through the roof of the house, breaking into the rooms below.

"Ash!" Gary yelled, seeing his friend lying motionless through the window.

"Swampert!" Tucker called, and he was rewarded by a full-throated roar from the other side of the house. He ran to the back, right as Pikachu came springing around to the front.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon to fight the fire on this side of the building!" Gary ordered. He turned to Gallade. "Charizard may not be able to get out with Ash. Can you use your Psycho Cutter to open up the doorways?"

"Erlade!" Gallade responded, leaping forwards with it's blades glowing lavender. Seconds later the doorway had been widened considerably, and Gallade had vanished inside. Smoke poured out of the new exit and Gary waited, beside-himself with worry about his friend. At last a shape emerged from the smoke; it was Kingler, still spraying water wherever it could. A moment later it was followed by Gallade, who led a very downcast Totodile. At last Charizard appeared, carrying Ash limply in it's arms, hot tears coursing down the fire-types cheeks.

"Ash!" Gary shouted, springing forwards as Charizard lay the trainer on the ground, his arms still wrapped around the egg canister.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out anxiously, rushing to his trainer.

"Come on, Ash," Gary said, pumping his chest as he began CPR. "Where's your fighting spirit? Don't give up on us now, don't you dare just give up."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, his tears melding with Charizard's on the ground.

Gary worked for several minutes, but Ash gave no response. He looked up at the assembled Pokemon with a look of sadness on his face. "I... I think he's gone," he whispered. Charizard roared up at the sky in grief as Kingler and Totodile both began to shed their own tears. Latias came floating around from the other side of the building where she had stayed with Tucker and Swampert. As soon as she saw Ash's body on the ground and the sadness of the Pokemon surrounding him, she understood. Her own keening added to the song of loss.

"Pika... pikachu," Pikachu cried as he shook Ash, refusing to believe what had happened. "Pika, pika pi!" Gary picked up the electric-type and stood up slowly, the grief evident on his face.

"It's no good, Pikachu," Gary said quietly. "He's gone."

"Pi-ka-CHU!" Pikachu screamed. Electricity burst from his body in a magnificent beam of light that shot skywards, electrocuting everything nearby. With a scream of pain, Ash lurched upright, coughing up thick lumps of inhaled smoke.

"Ash!" Gary shouted.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu rejoiced, throwing himself forwards onto Ash.

"Wha-?" Ash managed to gasp out, hacking up another lump of solidified soot. He tried to stand up, but was pushed back down by Gary.

"Easy, Ash. Don't overexert yourself," Gary warned. "You've only just been revived."

"What happened?" Ash insisted, although he allowed Gary to force him back into a sitting position.

"You were caught in the house as it was burning," Gary said simply. "You passed out from the smoke, and probably would have died if your Pokemon had gone in to save you." Ash lay on his back weakly, head spinning as he tried to absorb what was being said. He was able to grasp onto only one thing.

"My Pokemon saved me?" he asked. Gary nodded.

"Yep. Kingler tried to put out the fire, and Charizard used the strongest Take Down I've ever seen to break into the house. Gallade cut open the doorways so that Charizard could bring you out, and Pikachu revived you with a Thunderbolt."

"Toto," Totodile muttered sadly, looking at the ground utterly woebegone. He knew that he had done nothing to help. Ash chuckled painfully through his blistered throat and reached out to stroke him on the head.

"Thanks for looking after me while everyone else tried to reach me, Totodile," Ash said.

"Doh, to-to-to-to-to-to-da," Totodile smiled, jumping onto Ash in his gratitude at that comment.

"Gary," they heard Tucker shout from behind the house. "Swampert's almost got everything under control over here. How are things on your side?"

"We've got Ash," Gary shouted back. "He's going to be okay, he just needs a little rest." They heard Tucker give a laugh of relief.

"Leave the house," Ash muttered almost inaudibly, his vision beginning to darken from exhaustion.

"What?" Gary asked, leaning in to hear better.

"The house... leave it..." Ash murmured. "It can always be rebuilt..." Gary watched as his friend drifted off to sleep.

"Nighty-night, Ashy-boy," he said softly.

* * *

Ash woke up. He opened his eyes, blinked, and opened them again. He wondered briefly why everything was so dark, but realized that it was because night had fallen. He coughed, his throat feeling extraordinarily dry and painful. 

"Pika?" he heard Pikachu question from the side. He looked over and saw the electric-type standing next to him, eyes drooping with tiredness but keeping a steady watch over his trainer.

"Pikachu?" he asked, his throat burning.

"Pika pi!" Pika shouted. Instantly, Gary came running.

"Pikachu, what's wrong?" he asked urgently.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, pointing at Ash.

"Gary?" he asked, feeling a little dazed.

"It's about time you woke up," Gary said, smiling broadly. "You've been out for a couple of hours, and we were starting to worry again."

"We?" Ash asked faintly.

"Me, Anabel, and Brandon," Gary replied. "Noland, Greta, Lucy, and Tucker all just stayed long enough to satisfy themselves that you'd be okay before they went off to Viridian City. Your battle was shown on TV worldwide you know; we all figured that since Viridian City is the closest place to the Battle Colosseum, that would be where are the reporters would go. Noland sent a message to Brandon with his Manectric about an hour ago; apparently the last thing seen on TV was the Rayquaza appearing and attacking, and then the connection got cut off. From the sound of it, it's a good thing that they all went to head off the reporters!"

"Gary," Ash asked, his throat now feeling as if there was a Flamethrower inside it, "could you get me a glass of water? My throat's parched."

"Sure thing, Ashy-boy," Gary said with a smile. He walked a few feet to the side and came back with a canteen full of water. "Be sure to drink it slowly," he cautioned. Ash took a couple of sips; the sweet liquid dribbled down his throat, cooling the burning sensation. He thought it was the best thing he'd ever tasted.

"Thanks," he said, feeling much better. "Where are we?"

"I think we're about halfway between the Colosseum and Pallet Town," Gary answered. "It normally only takes a couple of hours to walk, but we've taken much longer because we had to carry you, and because we decided to go through the forest so that we could hopefully avoid any reporters who managed to sneak out to the Colosseum."

"Oh," Ash said, thinking about this for a moment. "Where's Anabel and Brandon?" Gary smiled.

"Anabel tried to stay up as long as she could looking after you, but just after Brandon got Noland's message she collapsed from exhaustion," he said. "We put her over by the fire and just let her sleep. As soon as she saw you on the ground, she insisted that she be the one to carry you back to Pallet." Ash was glad that it was dark. He had no idea why his cheeks were suddenly burning.

"What about Brandon?" he asked.

"Looking for firewood," Gary answered. Ash tried to stand up, but his legs buckled beneath him.

"Where are Charizard, Gallade, Totodile, and the others?" Ash asked, grabbing Gary's shoulders to support himself.

"Look around you," Gary said, waving his hand in a wide circle. Ash looked in astonishment. Assembled in a rough circle around her were Charizard, Latias, Kingler, Gallade, and Totodile, all fast asleep.

"What about everyone I sent out after the Frontier Brains?" he asked.

"They all went back to Pallet Town, just before we found you. Brandon made them go," Gary said with a grin. Ash nodded and let go of Gary, thinking he could stand by himself now.

"At least they're all okay," he said. His legs suddenly buckled, and he crashed to the ground.

"Ash, are you okay?" Gary asked him.

"Never better," the trainer grumbled.

"Get some sleep, Ash," he said gently. "You'll feel much better in the morning." Ash nodded and closed his eyes. In a few moments, he was asleep. Gary watched him for a moment and then turned to tend to the fire, leaving Pikachu the lone watch for the exhausted trainer from Pallet Town.

* * *

**This chapter is kind of like the last one; meaning that I'm not sure about the pacing. But I hope that you all still enjoyed it! Chapter Nine will come as soon as I've written it. Please review!**


	9. Home

**Sorry for the delay in uploading guys. I've been really busy with school recently. But to make up for it, I've made this another double upload - Chapters Nine and Ten are both on the table! Also, I've only just realized that I may not have made clear just how old everybody is. I'll only leave this as a marker - in this timeline, Ash is 20 years old. If you'd prefer not to know the ages of the characters and just go by how old you think they are relative to Ash, just let me know in a review. Otherwise I'll post the ages up with Chapter 11.**

* * *

The sunlight streamed brokenly through the trees as Ash, Pikachu, Gary, Anabel, and Brandon made their way back to the path. Ash paused for a moment, trying to take a breath of fresh air. His throat and chest still hurt, a lot, but he knew that there wasn't anything he could do about it for now. At least he could walk. 

It was late evening, and the four of them had been already been walking for hours. Anabel looked back at Ash, concern evident on her face. But she had seen the path through the trees ahead, and she knew that they'd be able to rest once they reached it. Who could have known that the forest would get so thick?

"It's not much further now, Ash," she reassured him, stepping through the last of the trees and emerging on the side of a long trail that curved with the forest. As Brandon and Gary emerged, she looked out over the field that stretched in front of them. The sun was just beginning to dive below the ground; it looked very pretty.

Ash slumped against the side of a tree, hacking hoarsely. In a few moments, he had regained his breath and looked around in surprise.

"I know this place," he said, eyeing a lone tree in the centre of a field. "This is where I tried to catch a Spearow when I first started out."

"Were you successful?" Brandon asked.

"Not exactly," Ash said with the hint of a smile on his face. "Pikachu wouldn't attack it, so I tried throwing a rock at it." He sighed. "Was that ever a mistake. It's because of that Spearow that Pikachu and I are buds now, but it's because of that same Spearow that I had to leave Pidgeot behind." He stood up, brushing down his jeans. "Pallet Town is just over that hill," he said. "We can be there in half an hour."

In silence, the four of them slowly climbed the hill, Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder as usual. Brandon and Gary reached the top first and paused as Anabel helped Ash up the hill - all of the smoke he had inhaled the day before was still affecting him. At last, they joined Brandon and Gary at the crest of the hill. Ash stopped and looked down at Pallet Town. A stunned expression crossed his face. He looked at Gary, hoping that it was a trick of the fading light, and saw that he had tears swimming in his eyes.

Professor Oak's lab was gone. Destroyed. A lightly smoking collection of debris was all that remained of the building and windmill. The forest and plains where the Pokemon stayed were charred black. The two lakes were dirty, and polluted looking.

"It's gone," Gary whispered, his voice tight with the pain of seeing his childhood home destroyed. "It's just... gone." The two people from Pallet stared down in disbelief at the wreckage.

_I can't believe it_, Ash thought. _This is the place where I got Pikachu; where I started my Pokemon journey; where all of my Pokemon lived until I moved into the Battle Colosseum_. Realization crashed in on him. When he'd moved over to the Colosseum, all of his Pokemon at the lab had been transferred over... all save one who had been needed to keep the peace among the other inhabitants.

He took off running, not caring about the pain lancing from his lungs. "Ash, come back!" he heard Brandon shout. He ignored him.

"BULBASAUR!" he shouted, "BULBASAUR, ARE YOU THERE?" He ran down the hill, moving faster than he could ever remember, still shouting. He heard footsteps well behind him, and knew that Brandon, Gary, and Anabel were all following. He ran, and ran, until he finally reached the destroyed lab.

Tears of sadness and rage clouded his face. He slowed and walked into the grounds, checking under every piece of rubble he came to for a sign of his friend. Every so often, a recognizable artefact would be discovered, jolting his stomach. He found the cover of a notebook that he recognized as being Tracey's, all of the pages lost. There was an aged, ripped drawing of a Pikachu and a Celebi ruffling slightly in the breeze, one corner trapped under a charred wooden beam.

"Bulbasaur!" he shouted, his voice echoing around the dark and ruined landscape. He waited, but there was no answering cry.

"Ash," Anabel said softly, taking him by the sleeve. "Ash, come on. You need to get home."

"No, I'm not leaving until I find Bulbasaur!" He pulled back sharply, wrenching Anabel's hand painfully. Not noticing her gasp of pain, he began to shift some more wreckage.

"Let's go, Ash," Gary said, trying to drag him away.

"I can't. I can't leave without Bulbasaur. Don't you understand?" he asked.

"I understand completely, Ash, but Bulbasaur isn't here," Gary answered. "If he was, he'd have answered you."

Ash began to feel dazed as the truth of Gary's statement hit him. Either Bulbasaur had left the lab, or... he shuddered. The alternative was too horrible to think about. He allowed himself to be led away from the ruins of what was once Professor Oak's lab, not really noticing where he was being taken, and only vaguely aware that it was now night. _Bulbasaur_, he kept thinking. _Bulbasaur, where are you_?

"Bubba-saur!" a voice cried out. He yanked his head up, instantly returned to his senses. Running towards them was a Bulbasaur, but not his. He felt despair begin to crowd over him again until he recognized it by the two heart-shaped markings on it's forehead.

"May's Bulbasaur!" he said in surprise.

"Bulba, saur bubba," it nodded it's head eagerly.

"Please tell me," Ash pleaded, "is my Bulbasaur okay?"

"Bulba!" the Bulbasaur said, nodding it's head. Ash collapsed in relief.

"How would that Bulbasaur know if Ash's Bulbasaur was okay?" Anabel wondered aloud.

"When May first came over to Kanto she left her Bulbasaur with mine at Professor Oak's lab," Ash answered. "Bulbasaur, can you take me to my Bulbasaur?"

In response, May's Bulbasaur turned and charged back the way it had come. Ash panted as he followed, a little surprised by it's speed. The Bulbasaur made a sharp turn and hurtled up Ash's garden, extending it's vines to ring the doorbell. The door opened just as Ash, Gary, Anabel, and Brandon reached it.

"_Ash! Gary_!" Delia shrieked, throwing her arms around him. "Thank goodness you're both okay, we were so worried!" In moments, the doorway was crowded with people and Pokemon, all struggling to see Ash and Gary with their own eyes. Brandon tugged on Anabel's jacket and jerked his head back towards the yard. She nodded and followed him into the darkness.

Together, Delia and Mr. Mime pushed Ash and Gary into the house. Ash almost fell over when he saw just how many people and Pokemon were crowded inside the living room - including his Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash cried, pulling away from Delia.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur responded, running towards Ash before leaping into his arms, a vine whip encircling the boy tightly in a hug. Ash looked up from his Pokemon and saw Tracey sitting in a chair, a tight grimace of pain on his face - Ash noticed that his leg was twisted at a very odd angle. Still, he smiled at Ash along with the rest.

"Tracey, what happened?" Ash asked, walking up to the Pokemon Watcher. Tracey just shook his head and looked around the room.

"I think you'd better sit down, Ash," he said. "It's a really strange story. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been there." Ash slowly lowered himself into a chair, looking around at Delia, Brock, Misty, Max, Tracey, Dawn, Norman, Caroline, and Professor Oak nervously.

"It was the Rayquaza, Ash," Professor Oak said abruptly. He turned and looked out the window in the direction where his destroyed home lay. "When it suddenly appeared during your battle, I realized that it must have crossed Pallet Town on the way because of it's direction. When it started to attack, I wondered if maybe someone in Pallet had somehow angered it."

"They didn't," Tracey said, uncharacteristically harshly. "Nearly everyone from Pallet Town had gone to the Colosseum, hoping to see you win and mark Pallet as a place of champions. I was one of the only people who stayed behind, and that was because I volunteered to look after all of the Pokemon in the lab. I was watching your match on TV when I heard a roar coming from outside. It didn't sound like any of the Pokemon at the lab, so I went outside to have a look."

His eyes darkened, and for a moment his hands balled into fists. "It was the Rayquaza," he said in a bitter tone. "It just flew up from the south. I couldn't believe my eyes. A legendary Pokemon, in Pallet Town! It just stared down at the lab and seemed really confused. Then it saw a knot of Jumpluff and a pod of Poliwhirl by one of the lakes. It just went berserk and started firing all kinds of attacks at the Pokemon. For some reason both lakes started turning brown. I think it some of the banks must have collapsed and sent a bunch of dirt into them or something. Some of the Pokemon ran into the lab, but it actually attacked the building! I've never seen anything like it. That Rayquaza absolutely destroyed the lab." He fell silent, struggling to contain his anger.

"Tracey told us that Bulbasaur here was brave enough to try and fight it off," Professor Oak cut in. "Unfortunately, none of it's grass attacks seemed to do anything but distract it's attention. Bulbasaur was lucky to get away by hiding in the forest with May's Bulbasaur."

"The Rayquaza just wouldn't stop attacking," Tracey broke in again. "Everytime it saw a Pokemon, it attacked. Most of them ran off, but I have no idea where they've gone. I've never seen a Pokemon lose control like that."

"But what happened to your leg?" Gary asked.

"When the Pokemon ran inside the building and the Rayquaza kept trying to attack them, I went in to try and get them out into the forest so they could hide," Tracey said. "The building came down right as I got to the door. I'm not sure what it was, but something hit me in the leg and broke it. If May hadn't come up on Pidgeot and led everyone to me, I'm not sure what would have happened. Both of the Bulbasaur were trying to look after me though." That was when Ash realized that something was wrong.

"Hey, where is May anyways?" he asked.

* * *

**As usual, please review! So, now we know what shocked May so much a little while back. If you're curious about who "Rey" and her family are (they were mentioned twice a couple of chapters ago), they'll be introduced pretty soon. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy Chapter Ten!**


	10. Revelation

**Here's Chapter Ten, the second part of the double upload. I think that the first half of this chapter is the best that I've written yet - I hope that you enjoy it!**

* * *

May stood alone in the backyard, near the pond at the back of the garden. A pool of light from the windows fell on her back, illuminating her shadow on the surface of the pond. She watched silently as the Tauros slept peacefully on the other side, noticing that Sceptile lay quietly in a tree a little to her right. She was sure that Noctowl, Swellow, Pidgeot, and Ambipom were up there too. 

She stooped and picked up a couple of pebbles on the ground. She slid them around her hand, allowing all but two to slide back to the earth. She lightly tossed one pebble into the water, watching as it fell beneath the surface with a light "ploop". She rolled the other pebble around in her fingers, feeling it's perfectly smooth, round shape. She was about to toss it into the water too but then changed her hand, sticking it in her pocket.

A short burst of red light, and May released her Eevee, yawning, from her Poke Ball.

"Vui?" her Pokemon asked, curious why she had been called out. May bent down and scratched Eevee's head before slowly walking to the tree and sitting down softly in the dirt at it's base.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said quietly. "Sometimes it's just helpful to have somebody to talk to, or just be there I guess." She sighed, and Eevee climbed into her lap, curling up into a little ball and then looking up into May's beautiful sapphire eyes. To Eevee's surprise, they were sparkling with the first sign of tears.

"Vui eievui?" Eevee asked. May closed her eyes and shook her head. From within the house she heard faint conversation, and she knew that Ash was being filled in on what had happened at the lab. To Eevee's alarm, soft tears began to fall soundlessly from beneath her lashes. Although May made no sound or movement, Eevee knew that she was crying. She pawed at her trainer, and May suddenly reached down and gave Eevee a tight hug.

They stayed that way for several moments until May's tears stopped flowing. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked down at Eevee. Eevee didn't know what was going on, but she was just glad that she had somehow been able to comfort her trainer.

"Thank you, Eevee," she said softly.

"Vui," Eevee smiled, curling into a tight ball again. May looked out over the pond for a little while, just watching the breeze ripple the water against the reeds. It was extremely peaceful.

"Pika?" Eevee looked up quickly at the noise then turned to May, an expression of longing on her face.

"Go on, Eevee," she said, a sad smile on her face. "It's been ages since you've played with Pikachu. Go and catch up - I'll be alright here for a little while."

"Eievui," Eevee said with a smile, and dashed over to where she'd heard Pikachu. May watched the two of them as they ran over to the other side of the yard, and noticed that both of the Bulbasaur had materialized and joined them. She smiled a little inwardly, although her expression remained sad. Somebody flopped down next to her. She knew who it was without even turning to look. Only one person had that little grace.

The two of them looked towards the pond, although May could sense that he kept stealing sideways glances at her. They sat like that for a long time in silence; not uncomfortable, just tranquil. Looking at the reflection in the water, May realized that it was a full moon.

"I'm glad you're okay, May," Ash said at last. "Tracey told me how you warned the others about the lab, and his leg."

"Don't ever do that to me again, Ash," May said quietly.

"Do what?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Force me to leave in a dangerous situation. I could have helped fight off the Rayquaza. I could have helped you. Anabel told me what happened in the house before she left with Brandon. If it hadn't been for your Pokemon you would have died."

"How could I have known that something like that would happen?" Ash asked. "If I'd known that I'd have been trapped in a burning building, do you really think that I would have gone off like that. What was important to me was that all of my friends were safe. I couldn't have lived if one of my friends died because I didn't protect them. Don't you understand that?"

May tore her gaze away from the pond and looked into Ash's auburn eyes. "I understand completely, Ash," she said. "I understood when Pidgeot flew me away. But don't you understand how your friends would feel if they found out that you died protecting them, without them at your side? Worry might make you battle more rashly, but friendship is a strong bond. If you'd let your friends battle with you the way you let the Frontier Brains, the Rayquaza might have been driven off before the fire started, and before you home was destroyed."

Ash faltered at her logic and looked away from her eyes. He began to pick at the grass beside him.

"I'm sorry, May," he said at last. "I didn't think of it that way before. I was just too, well, worried to realize that we could have fought better side-by-side than individually."

Emotion welled up inside May. Unable to suppress it, she burst out into tears, throwing her arms around a very startled and surprised Ash. He patted her back awkwardly as she cried into his chest. He looked helplessly over at Pikachu, who was studiously ignoring the situation and determinedly trying to distract Eevee. At last, May's heaving stopped. She stayed in that position for a while longer, her arms held around an increasingly uncomfortable Ash, her face buried obscured by his now damp shirt.

"Promise me that you'll never make me leave like that again," May whispered.

"I promise," Ash said, still holding her awkwardly. They stayed like that for a few more minutes until Ash heard May begin to breathe more slowly and deeply. Realizing that she had fallen asleep, he gently unhooked her arms from around his neck and stood up, stretching his numb legs. He took a few experimental steps before turning back to May. He gently picked her up and carried her into the now-dark house, Pikachu and Eevee following at a distance while the two Bulbasaur made themselves comfortable outside.

Lying comfortably on a tree branch, Sceptile chuckled softly to himself, having seen and heard everything. His trainer was maturing in a way that he never had before.

* * *

May woke up when the sunlight played gently over her face. She sat up and realized that she was on the floor in Ash's room, a sleeping bag beneath her. She looked up at the bed and saw Dawn, still fast asleep, her long navy hair obscuring her eyes. 

"Good morning, May," Misty greeted her. May turned and saw her at Ash's desk, looking over all of Ash's badges and plaques.

"Morning, Misty," May replied, standing up with a stretch. "Did we all sleep in here?"

"You don't remember coming to bed?" Misty asked with surprise. May shook her head.

"I think someone must have carried me up," she said. "Last thing I can remember, I was in the backyard looking at the pond. Where did you sleep? Did you share the bed with Dawn?"

"No," Misty answered. "Dawn claimed the bed pretty early in the day, before Ash even got back actually. She told me not to sleep on it tonight no matter what. I actually went to bed a lot earlier than her, but I just slept on the floor like you did. Dawn stayed up pretty late talking to Max and Brock, so I'm not surprised that she's still asleep now."

The wafting scent of bacon stole into the room under the doorframe. May gave a huge sniff and smiled. "Well, it looks like Brock is up at least," she said with a smile. "He's the only guy I know who can cook like that!"

With her stomach rumbling, she ran for the door, flung it upon, and skidded to a halt. Sitting upright against the wall was Ash, his blue jacket folded next to him and being used as a pillow by both Pikachu and Eevee. All three were soundly asleep. May turned to Misty and pressed a finger to her lips, motioning for her to be quiet. Misty peered over May's shoulder and gave a silent giggle at the scene. The two girls quietly crept down the stairs and entered the kitchen. A scene of complete chaos met their eyes.

Delia, Gary, Norman, Caroline, Tracey, and Professor Oak were all sitting at the table, drinking tea and coffee. They were doing their level best to avoid looking at Brock and Mr. Mime, both of whom were struggling against each other for control of the kitchen. While Brock fried the bacon, Mr. Mime started on the toast. Brock chased him away, only to turn and find Mr. Mime cooking the bacon himself. Likewise, Mr. Mime was trying to brew a fresh pot of tea, but the moment he turned around Brock poured it out and began to brew a different kind.

"Some things never change," Misty sighed, taking a seat at the table next to Caroline.

"Good morning Misty, May," Professor Oak greeted.

"Morning Professor," they chorused back.

"How long has this been going on for?" May asked, indicating the battle between Brock and Mr. Mime as both tried to serve the table first.

"Since Ash competed in the Orange League," Delia said with a sigh. May looked puzzled, but before she could ask any more questions Ash and Max entered the room.

"Hey guys," Ash said, stifling a yawn with his hand.

"Good morning, Ash," Delia said with a smile as she took a sip of her coffee. "Morning Max."

"Good morning, Mrs. Ketchum, Mom, Dad," he answered back.

"Has there been any more news about the Rayquaza?" Ash asked, noticing that the TV was on. Norman sighed.

"Yes and no," he said. "All we know for certain is that it came from the south. Now, the ocean is only a couple of hours walking distance from Pallet, so whatever it was that attacked it had to have come from the Ocean, the Sevii Islands, Cinnabar Island, or the Orange Islands. It's possible that it came from Hoenn, but I don't think it likely that the Rayquaza would fly that far when it's injured."

"Injured?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I remember thinking that I saw a burn on it's arm," Ash said. "I thought that it looked pretty fresh too."

"The News crews picked up on the burn too," Norman said. "There were reports coming in for a couple of hours before your match that a Rayquaza was attacking indiscriminately, but they were all ignored for a couple of reasons; there was no proof, and Rayquaza is a legendary Pokemon. Almost nobody has ever seen one, so why should there be a sudden spurt of sightings?"

"But then proof arrived in an unexpected way," Professor Oak cut in. "Your match was shown around the world. Everybody watching saw the Rayquaza arrive and attack. The trouble is that now that everybody is looking for the Rayquaza, it seems to have disappeared. Nobody's seen it since it destroyed the Colosseum."

Ash shook his head. "Where did all of the attacks start?" he asked.

"Last night the news crew said that the first reported attacks happened on Kumquat Island," Caroline said. A cold pit suddenly materialized in Ash's stomach. He looked up and his eyes sought Brock. They stared at each other, each hoping that they were wrong.

"Could somebody please get me a map of the Orange Islands?" Ash asked, forcing himself to stay calm. Looking confused, Delia strode off to the bookcase in the living room. She quickly returned with an atlas of the Pokemon World. Ash took it from her with fumbling fingers and flipped to the Index, finding the page that showed all of the Orange Islands.

"Has anybody heard anything about any other attacks in the Orange or Sevii Islands?" Brock asked.

"There was something about a Zapdos appearing near Kinnow Island, but because there was no proof some of the people investigating the Rayquaza attacks have said that it was probably just a misidentified Rayquaza," Delia said.

Gary snorted. "It's a bit difficult to mistake them," he said. "One's yellow and has wings; the other's green and looks like a flying snake."

"Oh..." Misty whispered softly, looking over Ash's shoulder at the atlas.

"What?" May asked.

"Kumquat Island is north of Shamouti Island," Brock said. "Just south of Shamouti, there are three islets - Fire Island, Ice Island, and Lightning Island. They're the homes of Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos."

"When I was in the Orange Islands, something extremely bad happened," Ash said.

"That's an understatement," Misty muttered. Latias suddenly ran down the stairs in her human form. She beamed at everyone, waving, but to her surprise nobody noticed her appearance.

"A Pokemon Collector was trying to catch a Lugia," Ash continued. "To do that, he had to lure it out by capturing all three legendary birds. He knew that Lugia would appear because it's their guardian, for lack of a better word."

"I remember that too," Professor Oak said. "But when he began to capture the birds it disrupted the world's weather. This time, the Pokemon are attacking."

"I'm positive that the burn was caused by Moltres," Ash said. "I don't know of any other Pokemon that could do so much damage to a legendary."

"Maybe it was an Entei," Misty suggested. Gary shook his head.

"Entei can't cross water, Misty," he said. "Whatever it was, it either lived there or flew there. A Moltres is the only thing that makes sense."

"But why would a Moltres just attack a Rayquaza for no reason?" May asked. "It doesn't make sense." Everybody fell silent for a few moments, trying to think of reasons why this would have happened.

"There was something else I noticed about the Rayquaza," Ash said slowly. "For some reason, it was only attacking the Pokemon at first. It was only after they all disappeared behind the dust that it started to attack the actual building."

"The same thing happened at the lab," Tracey said. "It only tried to attack the building when the Pokemon ran inside, and it ignored me completely." The colour drained from Professor Oak's face.

"You say that it was only attacking the Pokemon?" he asked. Ash and Tracey both nodded. "Did you notice anything else... strange, about it?" he asked.

"I thought that it had a weird look in it's eyes," Ash said, screwing up his eyes in concentration. "I've seen a Rayquaza before, but never looking like that. They were kind of glinting. And it shuddered a couple of times too, but it was barely noticeable."

"I remember the eyes too," Tracey said. "They had a cruel, look in them, but there was pain there too. I can't remember seeing it shudder though."

"What is it, Gramps?" Gary asked, seeing the look on the Professor's face. "Do you know why the Rayquaza acted that way?"

"I have a glimmer of an idea, but I've never heard of it affecting a Pokemon in that way before," Professor Oak said, turning away from the table.

"Professor Oak, please tell us what you think," Brock said.

The Professor turned back slowly and uttered one word: "Pokerus."

* * *

**I'll say it for you: Cliffhanger! As usual, please review. It helps me out more than you realize, and I'm always interested to hear everybody's thoughts. I'm not sure when Chapter 11 will go up, but it's on the way!**


	11. Seperation

**Just a single upload today, but I'll put up Chapter Twelve when I can. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was dawn. Somewhere outside Viridian City, the bushes rustled. A Weedle looked down from a nearby tree branch curiously. With a pop, a large blue creature burst up from the bushes, mouth wide open. "Weeeeeee!" Terrified, the Weedle scuttled off as fast as it could. 

"Waaaabbuffet!" the creature said, it's right arm touching it's forehead. It looked around. "Wabba, wobba wab?" it called. There was no answer. It looked around in panic, but couldn't see any sign of life through the undergrowth. The Wobbuffet sat down sadly. "Waab," it murmured. The bushes nearby rustled, and the Wobbuffet looked up eagerly. "Wabba?" it asked.

Several Beedrill emerged, their red eyes glowing angrily at the Pokemon who had dared frighten their baby. They began to fly towards the Wobbuffet, stingers outstretched.

"Wabba wabba!" the Wobbuffet screamed in panic, turning and running south as fast as it could, the Beedrill in hot pursuit.

* * *

The trainer looked down the path, humming happily. It was another hot summer day in the open, almost too hot with the insulating green pants he wore, specially tailored for the Sinnoh Region. But here under the trees it was quite cool, especially with the breeze and the rain clouds that could occasionally be glimpsed overhead, and the path he was on should lead him straight through Viridian Forest. _After that_, he decided, _I'll rest at Pewter City_. 

He heard a moan come from around the corner just ahead and he paused uncertainly. He heard it again; it didn't sound human. He began walking quickly towards it. Maybe a Pokemon was hurt and needed help. He rounded the corner and gasped. At the base of a large tree was an unconscious and badly injured Meowth. From the markings on the bark, it looked like the Meowth had somehow been run into the trunk about halfway up before sliding down to the ground.

He bent to the injured Pokemon, wondering what could have propelled a Meowth into the tree at that height and speed. _Maybe a Fearow caught it trying to rob it's nest_, he thought. _Or maybe it made a Nidoking really angry somehow. I've heard that there are a couple of wild ones around here_. He reached out to touch the Pokemon, but it shivered at his touch and cried out in pain.

The trainer bit his lip in worry. The nearest Pokemon Centre was back the way he'd come, in Viridian City. But even if he ran all of the way, it would still take a couple of hours to get there. The Meowth was too badly hurt for him to carry if the previous reaction was any indication. He sighed. He had no choice; he was going to have to catch it. Thanking the fates that he only had five Pokemon on him at the moment, he took a spare Poke Ball, enlarged it, and touched the Meowth with it as gently as possible. In a flash of red light, it burst inside. He watched the Poke Ball intently, but it didn't even wobble once.

_At least it wasn't a trainer's lost Meowth_, he thought. _I'd have had to leave it here for the trainer to find by themselves then_. He bit his lip again. How to get to the Pokemon Centre as fast as possible?

"Cruz, let's go!" he shouted, throwing out a Poke Ball. In a burst of light, a Tyranitar emerged. "Cruz," he began, but upon seeing it's trainer the Tyranitar turned away. "Cruz, please!" he shouted. "I know that you don't like me, and haven't listened to me since you evolved, but I need your help." The Tyranitar yawned, and then growled at the sky as the first drops of rain began.

"Please, Cruz," he begged. "I just found an injured Meowth. It's hurt real bad. It needs to get to a Pokemon Centre right away, but I won't be able to get there fast enough. You can move a lot faster than me. I need you to take the Pokemon back to Viridian City now!" The Tyranitar glanced at it's trainer. Hate for him shone through it's eyes.

"I know you hate the rain, but if you don't do it, the Meowth could die. Please Cruz, do this one thing for me. I promise that I'll never ask you to do anything again if you'll just help me this one time." The Tyranitar gave an inward groan. Hating itself for listening to it's trainer, but knowing that it was the only one who could help save the injured Pokemon's life, what choice did it have? It closed it's eyes and gave an abrupt nod.

"Thank you," the trainer whispered, pressing the Poke Ball into the Tyranitar's hand. Sparing time only to give a contemptuous look to it's trainer, the Tyranitar stomped off as fast as it could among the trees. The trainer gave a huge sigh of regret as he watched the Tyranitar leave.

"What did I do wrong that made you hate me so much?" he whispered.

* * *

Groaning, the man dangled painfully from the tree branch. He put a hand to his blue hair, wincing at the size of the bump on his head. He looked at the ground and was surprised to see how high up he was. He sighed and began searching for a branch within his reach so that he could climb down. He found one almost instantly, just below him. He tried to wriggle off the branch, but found that he couldn't move. 

Panicking, he tried to move in the opposite direction, but with no success. He realized that his right arm felt unusually heavy. He turned to see why and groaned. His arm was jammed between several tightly-knitted branches, leaving him stuck in this tree unless he was able to free himself. He began to slowly try and manoeuvre his arm out, wincing every time it became jammed between the branches.

"Fear?" he heard a voice croak. Looking up from his arm, he was startled to suddenly see a young Fearow pop it's neck out from behind the branches.

"H-hello," he said with a weak grin. Two more baby Fearow raised their necks to look at him. Realization dropped. The branches weren't in that shape naturally, they had been woven. His arm had crushed through a Fearow's nest. A shadow wheeled over him, and he gulped as he felt rather than saw several long claws ruffle through his hair.

The angry mother landed next to him, hissing menacingly at his close proximity to her chicks. A slightly smaller male landed next to his mate, a hard glint of rage in his eyes. The man stared at them both in fear. The two furious parents let out a simultaneous screech of anger and lunged at the man, their beaks glowing as they launched into a combined Drill Peck.

A powerful electric attack crashed upwards, so close that the man felt his eyebrows begin to crackle from the sheer intensity. It smashed directly into the two Fearow, and both the mother and the father wheeled upwards towards the rain-soaked clouds that soared overhead, trying to escape the attack. The man gave a sigh of relief and looked downwards. A dark-haired trainer and his Electivire stood on the path. The trainer had a bored expression on his face as he watched the two Fearow circle far overhead.

"Thank you," the man called down gratefully.

"For what?" the trainer answered, a contemptuous note in his voice. "I was trying to capture those Fearow, not save you."

"Oh... well, do you think you could help me to get down before those Fearow come back?" he asked.

"Why? Scared to climb down?" the trainer asked, condescension on his face.

"No, my arm's stuck inside the Fearow's nest. That's why they attacked me," the man explained. The trainer gazed upwards and gave a sideways nod to his Electivire. The Pokemon leaped into the tree as the rain began, scaling it rapidly.

"Brick Break the nest," the trainer said, sounding bored again. The man gasped.

"But there are young Fearow in there, they could get hurt!" he protested.

"I don't care about the babies, all I care about is catching one of the adults," the trainer said with a snort. "Do it, Electivire."

"Erek." The Electivire raised an arm, white tendrils covering it's fur. In one swift motion it brought the arm downwards, smashing through the side of the nest, freeing the man's arm, and sending the three young Fearow plummeting earthwards, squawking in alarm. Without thinking, the man slid over the edge of the branch, arms outstretched.

Two of the Fearow flapped their little wings as hard as they could, managing to gain enough lift to steer themselves towards a branch which they grasped onto with all of their might. Paralysed with fear, the third Fearow plummeted to the ground, shrieking. Falling just behind it, the man reached out and managed to grab the Fearow by it's wingtip. He swung it upwards, burying the bird Pokemon in his chest right before he crashed into the ground shoulder-first, sending up a spray of mud.

"Pathetic," the trainer muttered, motioning his Electivire to jump down before walking off. "I'll never catch those Fearow now."

The man groaned and struggled to his knees. His shoulder ached abominably and he was sore all over, but it didn't feel like any bones were broken. He was silently grateful for the rain. The mud had softened his fall enough to avoid serious damage.

"Fee?" the little Fearow asked him, hopping close and tilting it's neck inquisitively.

"I'll be okay," the man assured him, massaging his injured shoulder gently. "I've been in a lot of falls worse than that before." He looked up to where the nest had once been and winced regretfully. "I'm sorry that your home was destroyed. I didn't want that to happen," he said softly. "Still, at least you're okay." He gave the young Fearow a weak smile and then realized that the trainer was some distance down the path.

"Hey wait!" he called, scrambling to his feet and running after the trainer.

"What now?" the trainer asked, turning with an annoyed look on his face.

"Can you tell me where I am, and how to get to the nearest city?" the man asked. The trainer snorted.

"You mean you don't even know where you are?"

"Uhh, not as such, no. When you get blasted off by a Rayquaza's Hyper Beam, you don't really have time to plan out your route."

"Huh, so you were at the match between Cynthia and that weakling Ash, were you?" the trainer assumed. Without waiting for an answer he continued. "You're in a forest that's west of Viridian City. To get there, you need to go that direction." He pointed back the way he'd come.

"Thank you. But don't you think that's kind of harsh, calling the twerp a weakling? He was fighting to become a Master."

"I've beaten him so many times," the trainer muttered, anger pooling out of his eyes. "He'll always be weak until he learns that the only strong Pokemon is one that knows a powerful attack when it's caught." The man hesitated for a moment and then held out his hand.

"My name's-"

"I know who you are, James," the trainer said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and meet my father at Tohjo Falls. He said that there's something he needs me to do." He turned and took a few steps down the path before stopping and glancing back, a calculating look in his narrowed eyes. He recalled hearing something about James recently...

"Want to come with me?" he asked. James started.

"Eh, but, Tohjo Falls isn't on the way to Viridian," he began.

"You'll like my father," the trainer said.

"I should really just try to find my friends at the nearest Pokemon Centre," James argued.

"I'll make sure my father gives you a five-course meal made by the greatest chefs in Kanto," the trainer smirked. James gulped. Right on que, his stomach rumbled.

"Five courses?" he asked. The trainer shrugged.

"Make it six if you like," he said.

"Well, when you put it like that..." James said.

"My name's Paul," the trainer said. "If you're going to come with me, just try and keep up." Abruptly, he turned and began to walk down the path, hands still buried in his pockets.

James stood there, slightly stunned at the sudden change from indifference, to warmth, to downright contempt. He sighed and felt a sudden weight on his shoulder as the young Fearow landed on it. "It'll be difficult to stay on his good side," he muttered, as much to the Fearow as to himself. To his surprise, the Fearow reached down and pecked a Poke Ball on his belt. The Poke Ball absorbed the Fearow, rolled once, and then clanked still.

James looked at the Poke Ball in disbelief, but felt a warm feeling growing inside. At least he wouldn't be travelling with Paul alone.

* * *

"I thought Professor Namba said they were in Viridian City," Butch complained to Cassidy. 

"They were when he told us that a week ago," she said, reclining comfortably on the sofa. "Who knows where they've gone to now?"

"Probably still following that kid and his Pikachu," Butch muttered. Cassidy overheard him.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," she said. "He was in that match with Cynthia right? I'm guessing he's probably gone back to his home town for a little while until all of the interest dies. Maybe they'll be there too."

"Yeah, maybe," Butch acquiesced. He looked unhappily around the hotel room. It was a luxurious suite that had a balcony, a fireplace, a 50-inch Plasma TV, and furniture made of the softest leather. It even had two single beds, and the whole room was being paid for by the organization. He hated it. He hated the room, he hated his situation, and he feared the future. Just before they had left for Viridian City, Giovanni had made a surprise appearance. He'd reiterated that he wanted Jessie, James, and Meowth dead; and he'd promised them that if they didn't do it, they'd be taking their places.

Butch growled in his frustration. No matter what happened, he'd end up being either dead, or a murderer. He stood and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Cassidy asked without too much interest.

"I need... fresh air," he muttered, and stalked out of the room.

"We have a balcony," she pointed out, but he was already gone.

Butch left the hotel and walked down the street slowly. He didn't notice the darkening sky. He didn't pay any attention to where he was going, and just let his feet lead the way. He hunched over everytime he passed someone, wishing he'd put on another shirt. The large red 'R' on his black vest almost instantly identified him as a member of Team Rocket.

Unable to bear the stares people gave him any longer, he turned off into an alleyway, took off his shirt and flipped it inside-out. _It may look bad, but at least people won't be going out of their way to avoid me_, he thought dully. He put his shirt back on and continued to walk down the alley, emerging into a small park. He wandered aimlessly around until he saw a free set of swings. Sitting down in the centre-most one he began to kick back and forth, moving forwards and back slowly, barely aware of the black clouds that raced overhead.

He began to think about his life, and all of the decisions he had made that had ended up putting him in this situation. _How did it end being like this? What decision did I ever make that would force me to either kill, or be killed? What can I do?_ These questions raced around in his mind over and over again. Despite being a part of Team Rocket, and all of the evil things he had done for the organization, he didn't consider himself a bad person. He'd been a street kid when the recruiters came around; he had no real future away from the gangs, and by being part of Team Rocket he'd get a good salary, and his very own Pokemon.

He sighed and shook his head as the rain began. No matter how many times he looked through his life, he never saw anything that he could have done differently. It seemed that he had always been destined to be a killer.

* * *

Jessie awoke in the bushes when a heavy gust of wind caused several nearby pinecones to rise from the ground and pelt her in the forehead. She moaned and put a hand to her bruised head; she could feel a massive headache coming on, and suspected that the pinecones would only make it worse. 

"What a day," she groaned. "First we try to sell refreshments at the twerp's match to make a little cash and pay back our debt, but nobody will buy anything. Then that Rayquaza appears and blasts us all away. And now it looks like it's going to start raining," she grumbled as the first few drops alighted on her head.

"Meowth, do something," she whined. "Get me a blanket so I don't get wet." She waited for the usual snarky response, and her eyes snapped open when it didn't come. She looked around, but she was all alone. "Meowth?" she called, a note of panic in her voice. "James! Answer me!" Her only reply was another strong gust of wind.

"Brilliant," she sighed. "Looks like I've only got Wobbuffet for company." She closed her eyes, waiting for the customary self-release. "Wobbuffet?" she asked sharply. Her eyes opened as she looked for the right Poke Ball on her belt. Finally finding it she called Wobbuffet out, but the ball just bounced squelchily on the rapidly dampening path. She closed her eyes in horror, recalling that Wobbuffet had been selling snacks with them.

"Wobbuffet!" she screamed. "Wobbuffet, where are you?"

"Need some help?" she heard a voice ask. She opened her eyes and saw a green-haired coordinator in a loose purple jacket.

"Oh no," she groaned, closing her eyes again. "Not you." The coordinator looked surprised at her reaction and bent closer.

"Jessie!" he said in surprise. "I didn't recognize you under all of that mud."

"Thanks, twerp," she muttered. "Are you going to help me out of this bush or what?"

"On two conditions."

"Those being?" she asked.

"You don't try to steal any of my Pokemon," he stated. She looked at him indignantly.

"I don't want your Pokemon, you can have them! The only Pokemon I want to steal is that Pikachu."

"Number two," he continued. "You stop calling me 'twerp' and call me by my name instead." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, _Drew_," she said. "Now if you'd please help me up?" Drew grabbed her by the arm and heaved her out of the bush. She stumbled as she caught her footing before turning to face the coordinator.

"Thanks, tw-" she caught herself just in time. "Thanks, Drew," she amended. He gave her a quick grin.

"No problem, we all need a little help sometime." A lightning stroke flashed, illuminating the area more vividly as the rain began to fall down hard. "Follow me," Drew shouted, motioning into the wood.

"Where are we going?" Jessie asked as they both began to run and try to escape the rain.

"I'd just found a cave and was about to go inside for shelter when I heard you calling," Drew answered. "I couldn't hear what you were saying so I decided to check it out in case you needed help." He pushed a branch aside and ran across a small clearing before reaching the cave, Jessie close behind.

She flopped down gratefully on the dry rock and watched as Drew kindled a fire. "So why are you out here in Kanto?" she asked. Although it was dark, she could still see him flush.

"I came to see a friend," he said carefully. "I think she's nearby in Pallet Town." Jessie nodded knowingly.

"_She's _nearby?" she teased. Drew flushed again, but the tenseness and raw emotion of rejection he had carried inside for years compelled him to speak out.

"When I went to Johto and she came too, I was happy. I thought she'd finally gotten shot of that Ketchum kid and her nerdy little brother, and would want to travel everywhere with me instead." He sighed. "How wrong was I? I actually did travel with her for a little ways, from Goldenrod City to Ecruteak City. I thought she'd come to Johto because she wanted to be with me. But she didn't. When I told her how I felt about her, she kind of nodded in understanding and then just carried on as usual."

"That must have hurt," Jessie commented.

"It did, and still does. I tried to get closer to her, but I pushed her too far. I woke up one morning, and she'd gone on without me. She didn't even leave me a note telling me where she'd gone. The next time I saw her was at the Grand Festival. I told her then that I was going to go to Sinnoh for the Super Contests. I was sure that she'd follow me there. But as soon as I'd left for Sinnoh, she headed to Frayen instead. I've been looking for her ever since."

Jessie shook her head. "So now you've finally tracked her to Pallet Town?" she asked. Drew nodded.

"I'd just arrived in Kanto for a trip to Saffron City when I heard about a trainer trying to become a Master by beating Cynthia. I decided to watch it on TV, thinking that the trainer must be pretty good for the match to be an international broadcast. I sure didn't expect it to be Ketchum. I figured that since they're friends, May would be there cheering for him. So I decided not to go to Saffron after all but head to Pallet Town instead, since that's where Ash is from and I figured that he'd celebrate there."

"Do you think you can win her heart?" Jessie asked him. "She is pretty close to that twerp, and I've always thought that they have something going on." Drew flushed angrily.

"Oh, I'll get her all right," he muttered. "She's like putty when she's given a rose. Plus it's been so long since she's seen me that she's sure to realize how much she's missed me when she does."

"I just happen to be going to Pallet Town too," Jessie informed him, but Drew didn't seem to hear.

"Watch out, May," he murmured, a fanatical light in his eyes. "Your dream boy's coming."

* * *

**No Pokerus this chapter, but I figured that it was about time Team Rocket were given a proper introduction, especially with those events alluded to in Chapter Six. Just for interest's sake, I'd like to let you all know that I've actually already written the ending. Now it's just making the story flow to that point. If you have any questions, please just ask in a review, and I'll address them at the end of the next chapter that I publish. As usual, please review. It really does help, and I like reading your thoughts. Some of your guesses about what happens have been so close to my outline that it's scary! **


	12. Infection

**Wow, this is pretty unexpected. Two uploads in one day, and it isn't even part of a double upload! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Professor Oak, please tell us what you think," Brock said. 

The Professor turned back slowly and uttered one word: "Pokerus."

Ash stared at the Professor in confusion. He wasn't alone; Misty, May, Max, Delia, Norman, and Caroline were also looking puzzled. Gary, Tracey, and Brock all gave a sharp intake of breath.

"Of course... the Pokerus," Gary murmured.

"What's a Pokerus?" May asked.

"Pokerus is a short form for 'Pokemon Virus'," Professor Oak explained. "I began researching it just after you went to Hoenn, Ash. Even though I've been researching it for about six years, I still don't know much about it."

"Why not?" Dawn asked, making everybody jump - nobody had noticed her coming down the stairs. "6 years is a long time to be researching and still not know a whole lot." Gary came to the Professor's defence.

"The trouble is that Pokerus is dangerous for the Pokemon," he said. "When a Pokemon is infected, it makes them grow at an accelerated rate. That will still happen after the infection fades in fact, so that side-effect is very useful for training. The infection itself only lasts for 24 hours. But the Pokerus is very contagious. It can't be spread to humans, but every Pokemon has the potential to contract it."

"I still don't see why it's so dangerous," Dawn said. "You said it's a good thing for the Pokemon, and if it's contagious that can only help all of a trainer's Pokemon grow quickly, right?" Professor Oak shook his head.

"It's only the side-effect of the Pokerus that has ever been useful," he said. "The problem with Pokerus is that it hurts the infected Pokemon. It makes them feral for the 24 hours that they are infected, and therefore exceedingly dangerous to anything that moves, person or Pokemon - although it seems as if it will always attack a Pokemon first. You were there when the Rayquaza destroyed the Colosseum two days ago, Dawn. It was completely unprovoked, and primarily directed at the Pokemon on the field. From what Tracey has said, it seems as if a similar thing happened at the lab. The Rayquaza was attacking the Pokemon, not the lab itself."

"So... when a Pokemon is infected, it basically loses it's mind and goes crazy until the disease wears off?" Dawn asked, beginning to understand.

"That's it in a nutshell," Professor Oak answered. "And that's why we still know very little about it. You see, its very dangerous to examine an infected Pokemon. And it's even more dangerous to deliberately infect a Pokemon with it. Some Pokemon that have weak immune systems aren't able to fight it off in time and die."

"But why would a Rayquaza have caught the disease?" Misty asked. "It usually lives up in the ozone layer, and there aren't any other Pokemon I know of that live that high up."

"The Pokerus isn't actually a disease," Gary answered. "We may not know much about it, but one thing we do know is that the actual Pokerus is a type of micro-organism that attachs to a Pokemon. The infection dies when the micro-organisms do, although the side-effects can last for years. We don't have a clue where it comes from either. For all we know, it could come from space."

"So once the Rayquaza was infected by the disease," Ash said, thinking over the likely sequence of events that they had outlined, "it just attacked the first Pokemon that it saw, which happened to be a Moltres. And of course, a Moltres is a legendary Pokemon too; it wouldn't just be knocked out from an attack, it would be able to fight back."

"That's exactly what must have happened," Tracey said. "When the Rayquaza attacked the Moltres, it retaliated. It managed to land a powerful hit on the Rayquaza's arm. That attack drove it off but just made it even more enraged than it already was. So it attacked the Pokemon at the lab and in the Colosseum with even more power."

"That makes sense," May said, "but the infection will have worn off by now, won't it?"

Latias gave a high keening shriek of pain. She collapsed to the floor, reverted into her natural form, shuddering uncontrollably.

"Latias? Latias!" Ash shouted, knocking his chair over in his hurry to get to her side.

"Get all of the Pokemon outside!" Professor Oak shouted, grabbing a surprised Pikachu by the tail and dragging it away from Latias. "Now!"

"Wha? Why?" Max asked.

"Just do it!" Oak shouted. "Poke Balls included, it can be transmitted directly through those."

"Huh?" Max asked, more confused than ever. Gary grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Do as the Professor says," he snapped. "See that growth above her eyes?" He pointed out a small, lumpy pustule, a nauseating grey-green in colour. "She's contracted the Pokerus."

"How?" Misty asked, wide-eyed at the sight of Latias stretched out on the floor in pain.

"GET YOUR POKEMON AND POKE BALLS OUTSIDE!" Professor Oak roared.

* * *

"Pika..." Pikachu whispered, looking inside through the window with drooping ears. Every single Pokemon had been released from their Poke Balls while Brock sterilized them to make sure that the Pokerus couldn't infect them through the Poke Balls. They were all in the backyard, wondering just what was going on. 

So were Misty, Max, Delia, Dawn, Norman, and Caroline. Ash, May, Brock, Professor Oak and Gary were the only ones in the house with Latias. Now, they were all waiting for news on Latias's condition. At last, Gary appeared at the back door.

"Gramps wants to apologize for shouting, but he's a little busy so I'm here to do it for him," he said. "You should probably know why he was so anxious to get every Pokemon outside too. You see, the Pokerus is extremely contagious. You wouldn't believe how quickly it can be transmitted."

"How could Latias have caught it?" Norman asked. "Was it from the battle against the Rayquaza?"

"No, it's normally only transmitted through direct physical contact," Gary said. "Rayquaza didn't touch Latias, or any of the Pokemon used to battle it. We don't know how she caught it, but I'm sure that Gramps has a theory."

"What was the rush with getting all of the Poke Balls outside if it's only contagious through contact?" Dawn asked, a little indignantly.

"I said that it's _normally_ transmitted that way," Gary corrected her. "Pokerus can leave an infected host, but it dies very quickly if it does. It's something to do with the blood it's absorbed I think; Pokerus that hasn't infected a Pokemon can survive freely until it finds a host. From what the Professor and I know, the furthest a Pokerus can go after it has infected a host is five feet away. If there are any Pokemon or Poke Balls within that radius, they can be infected. That's why we had to get you all out, and why the Poke Balls are all being sterilized."

* * *

Ash crouched down near Latias, worry shining through his eyes as he gazed at her outstretched form. 

"Here," May said, squatting next to him. "I've brought a blanket to keep her warm." She spread the blanket on top of Latias. At May's touch, Latias's eyes snapped open. She began thrashing around, hissing angrily. A nasty gleam came into her eyes and she lunged, trying to bite the co-ordinator.

"Look out!" Professor Oak shouted as he dragged a shocked May back in the nick of time. Latias's snapping jaws closed shut inches from her arm.

"Latias, calm down," Ash urged, throwing himself in front of the legendary as she reared back again, and wrapping his arms around her neck as he tried to restrain her.

"Ash, get away from her!" May screamed. Ash held on grimly to the enraged Pokemon as it thrashed on the floor, trying to shake her attacker off. She managed to twist her neck towards Ash, rage gleaming in her eyes as she looked at him and prepared to strike.

"Latias, take it easy," he said soothingly. Inexplicably, the fight went out of her as she locked eyes with Ash. The gleam in her eyes vanished and she slowly lowered her head. Ash felt the tenseness leave her neck, and to his great surprise she lay her head in his lap, keeping one eye focused on his face. The Professor gaped.

"That was... unexpected," he said. "Ash, how did you manage to get her to calm down like that? I've never seen anything like it in my life." Ash shrugged, carefully keeping his face turned to Latias.

"For some reason I've always had this strange kind of connection to legendaries," he said. "I don't know why, but they seem to trust me. In all of my travels I've ridden a Lugia, befriended Mewtwo, saved the lives of a Mew and a Celebi, rescued a Manaphy from a pirate, and even managed to convince a Suicune to purify a polluted lake." Professor Oak shook his head in disbelief but looked at Ash with a mixture of respect and awe. He took a tentative step forwards, but Latias swivelled her head and began hissing menacingly again.

"Professor, I think you and May should both go outside," Ash said, taking hold of Latias's head again, calming her down. "It looks like I'm the only one who can get near her right now, and you two could get hurt if you come any closer." Professor Oak shook his head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Ash" he said. "You might need me later. Besides, if I stay around long enough without be threatening, she should acclimatize."

"I'm not leaving either," May added. "She may have tried to attack me but I know that she's not in her right mind. If I can help her, I will." Ash shrugged.

"It's your choice. Don't try to get too close to her though." Professor Oak pulled out a chair from the table, trying to think of a way to change the subject from Latias's infection.

"Tell me, Ash," he said, "have you thought about where you're going next?"

"Well, I was going to stay at the Colosseum as a Frontier Brain," he sighed, "but I can't do that now that its been destroyed. Dawn said that she was going to back to Sinnoh for a while to visit Johanna and tour around the region. She hasn't been back since she competed in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and I think she wanted to enter a couple more contests there for fun. I've been thinking of going with her. I want to see how the region's coping now that Team Galactic have disbanded, and it'll be great to see Nando again." Latias gave a shudder and he stroked her neck gently.

"You could probably battle the Gyms too," Professor Oak said. "I'm sure that they'd all love to be challenged by you, and there are other Gyms that you haven't been to yet. Each region generally has at least sixteen Gyms, and some of them aren't visited very often because they're so far out of the usual way. I know of some leaders who are just dying for an opponent."

"That sounds great!" Ash said happily. "I'd love to battle all of the other Gyms. It would make the journey a lot more interesting than just visiting Twinleaf Town and coming back to Kanto."

"Ash?" May asked, her cheeks suddenly feeling a little warm. "Do you think it would be okay if I came along too? I've never been to Sinnoh, and I'd like to-"

"That would be great!" Ash beamed. "I'd love it if you come with us, May."

She went pink at the sight of his smile, and turned away quickly. _Why do I suddenly feel warm and kind of faint?_ she wondered silently. She thought about how happy he seemed to be at the idea of travelling with her again, and her stomach gave an unexpected jolt. _Of course,_ she thought in relief. _I'm just hungry._

* * *

**As usual, please review!**


	13. Understanding

**Here's Chapter Thirteen. Just a single upload again, but the chapter is pretty long so I figured that compensates. Enjoy!**

* * *

She was in pain. So much pain. It seemed like it was her whole world. It was all she could remember. Her vision was dark, almost non-existent. Occasionally a misty, indistinct figure would appear and then back away. She bared her teeth at the blurry grey apparitions, trying to fend off any more onslaughts. A fresh lance of pain skewered down her back and she trembled, crying out. It was all she knew. 

Her head hurt abominably. There was a horrible, biting sensation, and she could feel herself being absorbed. She knew, instinctively, that the pain had begun there. Now, it coursed throughout her entire body, leaving her trembling on the ground, exhausted, in agony. She could hear noise; it sounded strange, and yet familiar. It had a steady rhythm to it. She felt exceedingly weak, but she managed to turn her head towards the source.

It was another of those apparitions that occasionally lunged for her. This one seemed different though. There were two auburn orbs in this apparition that radiated calm and protection. She felt slightly safer looking at them, and the pain was a little less too. She focused her eyes on those orbs, not willing to turn away. Another lance shot through her and she trembled, but she kept her gaze on the calming influence of the apparition.

So much pain... so much...

* * *

Latias opened her eyes. Her vision was hazy, but the agony she had been in for so long was finally beginning to fade. She trembled as she tried to stand up, but she was too weak. She collapsed heavily, moaning softly. She felt sure that her world was ending. All she knew was pain. Surely if the pain died, she would too. 

But no; she could remember beyond the pain now. She remembered the delicious smell of breakfast as she came skipping down the stairs; she remembered the warm embrace of the person she had begun to consider as her trainer as he reunited with her; she remembered flying through the open skies with her brother, her heart filled with happiness.

She turned her head slowly, looking back in the direction of the apparition that had comforted her so much. It was gone. In it's place was the trainer, hunched over in sleep, although his arms still encircled her neck protectively┘ comfortingly.

A spasm wracked her and she gave a low, flutelike call of pain. She heard footsteps coming from behind her and she turned her head. Although her vision was still blurry and unfocused and the light dark, she recognized the female as being one of her tormentors by her shape. As she drew closer and became more distinct though, Latias began to recognize her. Her hair swung softly from side-to-side as she approached slowly, a bowl of water in her hand. Latias could sense her nervousness and knew that it was because she had tried to attack her the night before. She knew that this girl was a friend though; she remembered being held back by her when she almost fell over the edge of the Colosseum's railing.

The girl was very near her when another painful spasm wracked her body. The girl backed off swiftly, fear in her eyes. Latias almost cried in desperation; she was devastatingly thirsty. She tried to rise again, but collapsed once more. Her vision began to flicker, and she knew that she was about to pass out from dehydration.

Then suddenly the girl was next to her. Latias could still sense fear, but was glad that she was doing her best to keep it contained. She felt the trainer's grip on her neck broken gently, and then the soft touch of the girl as she manoeuvred her head and neck towards the bowl of water. Latias drank the water as quickly as she dared, feeling her irritated throat begin to be soothed by the liquid. When the water was all gone, Latias gave the girl a little flute-like call of thanks and then lay her head in the girl's lap. She felt the girl tense when a spasm shook her frame, but at last she seemed to release that it was an involuntary movement, and that Latias had absolutely no desire to attack her. The girl began to speak, although in Latias's exhausted state she barely understood what was being said. The tone was soothing and relaxing though, and Latias felt her eyes closing in sleep.

* * *

Ash awoke, feeling very stiff. He yawned slightly as he turned his head towards the window and saw sunlight beginning to filter in. He looked down towards Latias, and was surprised to see that her eyes were no longer fixed on him. Instead they were closed in slumber, her head on someone else's lap. He turned and was surprised to see May sitting next to him, her eyes shut tightly in a deep sleep. Her head was resting lightly on his shoulder and her bangs covered her eyes; oblivious to what had transpired before sunrise, he wondered briefly why Latias and May were sleeping in those positions. 

He watched May sleeping for a few more moments. He was feeling ravenous, but he didn't want to accidentally wake May up by taking away her pillow. Her mouth moved slightly and she gave a little sigh in her sleep. To Ash's immense surprise and slight discomfort, she snuggled into his shoulder a little more securely; her arms shifted slightly until they encircled his neck. Still asleep, May gave another small sigh of comfort and turned her head so that her cheek was pressed against his shoulder more comfortably.

Ash felt his cheeks redden uncontrollably, and a curiously warm sensation began to glow in his heart. He heard a noise and jerked his head towards the window, sincerely hoping that neither Max or Norman were looking in. To his immense relief, the only one at the window was a sleeping Pikachu. He turned his attention towards the table and saw Professor Oak sprawled across two chairs, his head lolling as he snored.

He turned his attention back to May. Hesitantly, he gently put his arm around May's shoulder, holding her to him more securely. She gave another little sigh and Ash felt the feeling flare up inside of him again. His eyes widened as he suddenly recognized what the feeling was. He tried to fight it for a moment, hoping that he was wrong, but to no avail. He sighed and leaned his head over until it rested gently on May's.

A sudden, silent tap on the shoulder startled Ash. He swivelled his head around so fast that he cricked his neck. He began to rub away the sudden pain and saw Brock cringing slightly at the unexpected response. Ash patted the ground on his other side and Brock sat down quietly.

"You're looking pretty comfortable, Ash," he whispered. Ash just let out a quiet groan.

"I fell asleep last night with Latias in my lap," he said. "I wake up and Latias is in May's lap, with May leaning on my shoulder. Not exactly what I expected to see."

"At least you didn't push her off," Brock said with a shrug. Ash just sighed and looked back at the window. They sat in silence for a while, watching the sunlight grow more intense. Far off in the distance they heard the Pallet Town Dodrio let out several long and quavering cries, indicating that it had just turned 7 o'clock.

"I've actually been expecting this for quite a while," Brock said.

"Expecting what?" Ash asked, confused. Brock waved towards May, still sleeping on Ash's shoulder, and Ash's arm wrapped around May.

"How many times have you heard Professor Oak, Professor Birch, and Gary say that a Pokemon usually takes after it's trainer?" Brock asked.

"More times than I can remember. Why?"

"Have you ever noticed how... close, your Pokemon and May tend to be?" Brock asked. Ash shrugged.

"Not really," he said. "I know that both of our Bulbasaur are pretty close, but most of the time it just reminds me of our friendship." Brock sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he expected.

"You may not have known this Ash, but most of your Pokemon are male, and most of May's Pokemon are female."

"So?" Ash asked, not really seeing where this was going. Brock sighed again, but resolved to struggle on until he made some kind of sense with Ash.

"You can often tell how a trainer feels just by observing the Pokemon," he said. "Both of your Bulbasaur, both of your Squirtle, your Snorlax and May's Munchlax, as well as Pikachu and May's Eevee have indescribably close bonds. Bonds that go beyond friendship."

Ash began to see where this was going and felt himself grow warm. Brock opened his mouth to speak again, but Ash forestalled him by holding up his hand.

"I think you're right, Brock," he said at last. "May and I haven't really seen each other since I completed the Battle Frontier. We've managed to keep in contact through the videophones though. For a little while now, I've started to feel a little strange about her. When I look at her, I feel a tightening in my chest. Brock, I think that I like her as more than a friend."

Brock was surprised. He hadn't expected Ash to cotton on so quickly. Then he smiled and leaned back slightly.

"Like I said, I've been expecting it for a while," he said. "Not just on your end either." He watched Ash work this out, and grinned slightly at the look that emerged on Ash's face. Ash opened his mouth to speak, but a weak quaver from Latias attracted his complete attention.

She had woken up, and was looking at Ash pleadingly with her red-rimmed eyes. Ash felt May stir on his shoulder and he quickly retracted his arm. She yawned and opened her eyes slowly. In one swift motion, she jerked her head off of his shoulder, whipped her arms away from his neck and scuttled backwards. Her face was beet-red as she looked at Ash and realized that he was awake.

"Morning, May," Ash said cheerily, hoping his real emotions were hidden enough. "Good thing you woke up when you did, I think Latias is a little hungry and tired. I didn't want to accidentally wake you though. You must have been up really late to just fall asleep like that without even getting a proper pillow."

May gaped at him for a moment, her tiredness preventing her from comprehending his meaning. Then she realized that he was covering for her to allow her to keep a little dignity at her surprise upon awakening.

"Uh, yeah, I was up real late," she said slightly fast. Then she gave a little nervous laugh. "Guess I'll get Latias some water since she's so thirsty." She scuttled out of sight into the kitchen, her face still a little pink. Ash shook his head and grinned a little. Unbeknownst to him, a blue-haired girl peeking in at the window had seen it all. She gave a huge grin and thumbs-up to Brock; he smiled and returned the gesture. They had both been right.

* * *

Latias was cured. She was very tired and felt extremely weak, but everyone was rejoicing that she'd managed to fight off the Pokerus, although Ash was still at her side and making sure that she was comfortable. 

"So, Ash, you're coming back to Sinnoh with me, huh?" Dawn asked. Ash nodded from his position next to Latias on the floor. Seeing that she had fallen asleep, he stood up and walked over to the table for some breakfast.

"Yeah, it's a while since I was last there and Professor Oak's told me that there are other Gyms in the region that I didn't know about before. How cool would that be to win one of every badge in a region?"

"Sounds pretty cool to me," Dawn said. "Of course, I just want to see my Mom and Professor Rowan again."

"What are your plans, Max?" Brock asked.

"I'm going back to Johto," Max said. "I still have three badges to win before I can get into the Silver Conference. How about you, Brock?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping to go back to Sinnoh with Ash and Dawn," Brock said. "There are still a lot of Sinnoh Pokemon I haven't seen, and there are some really good breeders there too who I haven't had a chance to visit yet."

"What are you going to do, May?" Norman asked, slicing his sandwich steak. May looked down at the table for a moment before answering.

"I'm going to Sinnoh too," she said quietly. Norman looked at her in surprise.

"Why?" he asked. "I thought you would keep travelling in Frayen and try to catch some new Pokemon." May shrugged, unwilling to give the real reasons why she didn't want to go back to Frayen. How could she possibly explain that she didn't want to go back to Frayen because that's where Drew was going?

"It should be fun!" Dawn said, breaking the silence. "I can't to see you try some Sinnoh contests, May. Maybe I should enter some too, give you a little competition." It broke the ice, and May laughed.

"I look forward to it, Dawn," she said with a grin. "It's been a while since I had a really good opponent!"

"Why have you gone red, Ash?" Misty asked curiously from across the table. Ash began to choke on his cereal, and Brock had to thump him on the back.

"It's not my fault," Ash protested. "May's laugh made it happen." He went back to his cereal, supremely unaware that everyone's mouth's were wide open at this admission, and that May's face had gone so red that it rivalled her shirt in intensity. Norman raised an eyebrow and Dawn did her best to contain a giggle.

"Hey, Max," Ash said, still not realizing what he'd said, "remember how I promised you a battle one day?" Max's glazed expression of shock at Ash's comment snapped off to be replaced by a look of extreme excitement.

"You mean right now?" he asked. Ash grinned at him.

"I'm ready if you are," he said.

* * *

Ash and Max faced each other on the front path. Brock stood halfway between the two, acting as referee. Everyone else stood behind Brock, watching the two trainers with interest. 

"I hope Max knows what he's up against," Delia whispered to Caroline quietly.

"Oh, I'm sure he does," Caroline replied. "He watched Ash train his Pokemon for a year and a half. If anything, I'd say Ash needs to watch out for Max - he's never seen my boy battle before."

"This will be a three-on-three match," Brock announced. "Substitutions can be made at any time on either side. There is no time limit. Challenged ready?"

"Ready," Max nodded.

"Challenger ready?"

"You bet," Ash grinned.

"Begin!"

"Mareep, it's showtime!" Max shouted.

"Cyndaquil, I choose you!" Ash called.

In twin bursts of light, the electric-type and fire-type emerged. Mareep crackled with electricity as it stared down it's smaller opponent. Cyndaquil gave a little yawn and then charged up it's flame.

"Mareep, lets start things off with a Tackle!" Max commanded.

"Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen and follow up with Flame Wheel," Ash ordered.

Cyndaquil opened it's mouth and sprayed out a large and thick cloud of smoke. The Mareep halted it's headlong charge, unable to see. It could hear a whirring noise from just beyond the smoke cloud. Without waiting for direction, it dashed forwards, hoping to intercept the Cyndaquil. Too late it saw the revolving flames, racing around the Smokescreen at high speed. Max let out a gasp of horror as the flames collided with his Mareep, sending it flying backwards, back arched in pain.

"Mareep is unable to battle," Brock ruled. "Cyndaquil is the winner."

"I'm sorry Mareep. Guess I let you down this time," Max said softly as he recalled his Pokemon.

"Great job, Cyndaquil," Ash smiled. "Looks like our training over the last couple of weeks really worked out! Take a rest now."

"That was some impressive strategy by Ash," Norman said to Caroline. "He used that Smokescreen to defend and attack at the same time." May overhead and couldn't help nodding her agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "It almost looked like a contest move."

"Battlers ready for round two?" Brock asked. Both Ash and Max nodded. "Begin!"

"I'll choose first this time, Max," Ash grinned. "Muk, I choose you!"

"Muuuuu," the poison-type burbled as it landed on the path with a spatter. Max gasped and stepped back at the terrifying sight, but on the sidelines Misty, Delia, Professor Oak, and Gary just grinned; they knew that while Muk looked intimidating, she was really the most gentle and affectionate Pokemon of Ash's at all.

Max glared at the Muk and chose the first Pokemon that came to mind. "Grovyle, go!" he shouted.

"Vyle," the grass-type yawned, crossing it's arms as it looked at the Muk with a bored expression. Ash was surprised - surely Max of all people knew that Grovyle was weak against Muk?

"Grovyle, use Bullet Seed!" Max shouted. The Grovyle leaned forwards and fired intensely-green seeds at Muk.

"Counter it with Sludge Bomb!" Ash commanded. With a huge roar, Muk shot out a spray of purple spheres. They collided head on with the Bullet Seed attack; most of them collided, exploding on contact, but some on each side found their targets. Muk stretched upwards, absorbing the Bullet Seed harmlessly. Max's Grovyle, overconfident in it's own abilities, decided to take the Sludge Bomb instead of dodging. To his immense shock, the attack did a lot of damage. The Grovyle collapsed to his knees, holding his stomach in pain.

"Grovyle," Max gasped.

"Muk, get close to Grovyle!" Ash shouted.

"Grovyle, get out of there and use Quick Attack!" Max said, panicking now.

As Muk drew closer, the Grovyle managed to get to his feet. He jumped backwards and then shot forwards in a blur of motion. Ash grinned; exactly what he wanted.

"Take the attack, Muk!" he shouted. Muk stretched upwards, and the Grovyle ran directly into her protective layer of sludge. "Now use Body Slam!" Ash shouted. The Grovyle looked up in terror as Muk collapsed in on herself.

"Grovyle, try and use Fury Cutter!" Max shouted. Sections of Muk's body seemed to pulse outwards in a sudden flurry of motion. Grimly, Muk held her ground, and in only a few moments, the struggles subsided.

"Grovyle is unable to battle!" Brock said. "Muk is the winner!"

"Great job, Muk," Ash smiled as the poison-type gave him a squelch hug. "Want to keep battling?"

"Muk muuuuu," Muk nodded, turning back to face Max. Max bit his lip. He was down to his last Pokemon while Ash still had all three of his left. He knew he only had one choice to make.

"Gardevoir, lets go!" he shouted.

"Gaaar," the Gardevoir murmured as it appeared.

"Use Confusion!" Max shouted.

"Fight back with Gunk Shot!" Ash ordered. Muk began to glow blue and was lifted into the air, damage slowly accumulating the longer she was held up. Muk fought for partial control and spat out a stream of putrid juices. The Confusion was only focused on Muk, and Gardevoir was helpless from the retaliation. The fetid liquids splashed on her body and she screamed, inadvertently halting the Confusion as she tried to scrape the Gunk Shot off. Ash saw his opening.

"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!" he commanded. The purple spheres shot forwards, aimed directly at an oblivious Gardevoir.

"Protect!" Max defended. Gardevoir instinctively surrounded herself with a glowing green sphere. The Sludge Bomb reflected off of the Protect and barely missed hitting Max. "Now use Psychic and send Muk flying!"

Muk glomped in surprise as she was lifted into the air. Gardevoir took extra care to spin Muk as she threw her backwards. Muk landed at Ash's feet, defeated.

"Muk is unable to battle, Gardevoir is the winner!" Brock ruled.

"Good job, Muk. You did a lot of damage," Ash said as he recalled his Muk with a smile. "Now Cyndaquil, I choose you!"

"Cinda!" the fire-type squeaked as it appeared for the second time.

"Use a Flamethrower, followed by Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted.

A fiery blast of flames launched from Cyndaquil's mouth, expanding over the distance as it rapidly closed on Gardevoir.

"Use Confusion to stop that Flamethrower!" Max shouted. The Gardevoir held out a glowing-blue arm; the Flamethrower streamed off in several different directions. Max laughed at what he saw as a certain victory. The laugh turned into a stutter of shock. Surrounded in circular flames, Cyndaquil was barrelling down the centre of the Flamethrower by using it's Flame Wheel. The attack smashed directly into the Gardevoir, sending her stumbling backwards.

Both Pokemon glared at each other for a few moments, Gardevoir panting heavily. Then, with a shudder, she keeled over forwards.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle! Cyndaquil and Ash are the winners!" Brock announced. Max collapsed on his knees, hugging his exhausted Pokemon before recalling her. He heard footsteps and looked up into Ash's kind eyes.

"Great job, Max. You and your Pokemon really worked hard out there," he said.

"I'll never be as good as you," Max said dejectedly.

"Don't say that," Ash said, griping his shoulder and pulling him to his feet. "Do you think I would have had any chance against Cynthia the day I started out? All it takes is training. I have six more years experience and have competed in five more leagues than you. I know that the battle will be closer next time, just like how you keep getting closer to beating Misty every time you battle her."

"But you'll always be more experienced than me," Max said, seemingly determined to have a bout of self-pity. Ash wouldn't let him.

"The first time that I ever competed in a league, I finished in the top sixteen," he said. "You've already beaten me there by coming in the top ten in your first competition. You'll beat me yet."

* * *

With the match over, all of the spectators apart from May and Dawn had gone back into the house. May watched curiously from the sideways as Ash spoke to Max. She couldn't hear what Ash was saying, but Max was beginning to look a lot more happy now than he had at the end of the match. 

She began to feel a warm glow spread inside her heart.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed Chapter Thirteen. As usual, please review!**


	14. Gift

**Enjoy!**

* * *

May watched from the grass as Ash and Max walked past her, chatting about their battle. Her gaze followed them into the house and she gave an inaudible sigh when the door closed. Her heart still had that warm feeling but she wasn't entirely sure what it was, or why she had. She felt a tap on her shoulder. 

"Hey, May," Dawn smiled. "Feel like having a chat?"

"Why, is something wrong?" she asked.

"Not on my end," Dawn said, "but you kind of look like you have something you want to talk about."

May looked at her newest friend, surprised. She still didn't know Dawn very well, but it seemed that Dawn already knew her well enough to tell when she had something on her mind.

"I guess that I could use a chat," she said. "I'd probably talk to Max or Ash normally, but I don't think Max would understand and Ash...". She stopped abruptly, her face flushing. Not looking at Dawn and not knowing what to do, she began walking around the side of the house into the backyard. With Dawn in step behind her, she headed over to the pond. She pulled aside some reeds and sat down at the water's edge, looking across the water to the tree where she and Ash had talked two nights prior.

"So, why can't you talk to Ash?" Dawn asked innocently. May looked down at the water lapping against the bank. She felt suddenly tongue-tied, and could only shrug. She chanced a glance at the co-ordinator from Sinnoh and was surprised to see a huge grin on her face.

"What?" May demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dawn asked.

"No."

Dawn sighed. "Everytime you look at him, you start to feel strange. Your heart begins to dance whenever he looks at you and smiles. When you see him laughing with another girl, you stomach starts to tie itself in knots. Whenever he does something kind for someone, you grow warm and can't help but think how he's always been there for you."

May looked at her, absolutely thunderstruck. "How... how did you... Is it _that_ obvious?"

Dawn thought carefully for a moment before answering. "Not to everyone," she said evasively.

"I just wish I knew why I start feeling like this," May sighed unhappily, looking back out over the water. Dully, she noticed her Squirtle and Ash's Corphish playing in the shallows on the other side. "I just wish I knew what these feelings _are_." Dawn looked at her completely surprised. Could it be that May had no idea what her feelings were?

"You've got what I call 'the Brock Syndrome'," Dawn said. May almost looked aghast.

"You don't mean that I... it can't be that... with _Ash_?" Dawn nodded silently. "But how did you guess?" May asked, almost desperately.

"Brock noticed -" Dawn began, but May gave out a loud groan and cut her off.

"And naturally, he told everyone what he thought," she muttered. Dawn looked at her, surprised.

"You've got me all wrong," she said earnestly. "Brock didn't notice because of you. He noticed because of Ash. When he realized, he asked me to see if I thought..." She trailed off, suddenly realizing what she'd blurted out. May looked at her, mouth agape.

"You mean that he..?"

"Far as I know," Dawn said. She stood up hastily, brushing down her short skirt. "I think I'll go in for lunch," she said, running off to the house quickly.

May watched her run into the house and then turned back to the pond. Her mind was swirling with Dawn's unexpected revelation. Corphish and Squirtle began racing around the pool. They passed by raucously, but May didn't even notice them. She kept replaying the conversation with Dawn in her mind, and all of her recent moments with Ash.

She recalled his comment at breakfast that morning when Misty had asked him why he had turned red. "_It's not my fault. May's laugh made me do it_," he'd said. At the time she had blushed, but the comment had made her feel happy for a reason she hadn't been able to explain. Until now.

She came back to Earth as Squirtle and Corphish did another lap, splashing her accidentally. She looked down at her wet shirt and sighed. At least this spot in the reeds was safe from view of the house. There was a short patch of grass to sit on, and the reeds kept the place hidden from almost every place in the garden. It was the reason that she'd liked it ever since she'd found it. It gave her a place to think without fear of being disturbed by her brother.

She touched the wet spot on her shirt and gave a slight grimace of disgust at her memories from Johto. She was well aware that most men were attracted to a woman's chest. She was also aware that her chest was slightly bigger than average for girls her age, and that people had been attracted to her for that reason before. Thoughts raced around madly in her head.

_Does Ash only like me because of my chest?_

_Of course he doesn't; I don't think he's ever even seen a girl as anything more than a friend before._

_If I'm his first crush, he may be interested because of them. It _is_ what normally gets a guy's attention the first time he ever notices a girl._

_Ash isn't like Drew. He doesn't like you because of your chest; he likes you for something more._

_You thought the same thing about Drew, and look how that turned out. You remember what happened that night..._

_Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! Ash isn't Drew! He's as different from Drew as Max is from Harley._

"Squirtle?" May looked up and realized that she was shaking from the memories. Her Squirtle was tugging her arm, looking at her with a worried expression.

"I'm alright, Squirtle," she said softly. "Just some bad memories... from Johto." Her Squirtle nodded understandingly. He'd been there and knew what had happened. Squirtle patted her gently on the arm and then dived back into the water to finish the race.

May touched her wet shirt again lightly and lay back on the grass. _At least I didn't get splashed much, and it's pretty warm so it should dry quickly_. She closed her eyes, her head suddenly buzzing with tiredness. She'd been up later than anyone else last night trying to look after Latias, and she'd woken up pretty early too. The sunlight began to play lightly over her eyelids; she felt suddenly warm and sleepy. Before she had time to take another breath, she'd fallen asleep.

* * *

She awoke suddenly. She could tell from the light streaming in that she'd been asleep for a couple of hours. Her stomach rumbled; she was nauseatingly hungry. She stretched and then levitated into the air. She moved over lazily to the table where a buffet had been spread out. In the next room she could hear a crowd of people having a conversation. 

Latias looked at the food on the table, wondering how she would be able to eat it. Her arms weren't exactly designed to put food on a plate, or use a fork for that matter.

"Feeling hungry, Latias?" she heard Brock say as he entered the room. She chirped happily at him, nodding her head eagerly. He chuckled. "Here, let me get some for you. What would you like? A bread bun? Rice balls? Fruit salad?"

Latias thought for a moment and then pointed to the bread and the fruit salad. Brock grabbed a small plate and bowl from the table and loaded them both up for her. Latias chirruped happily as he put them on the table and rubbed under his neck to say thank you. Then, without another glance, she tore into the food.

"Glad to see that you're feeling better," Brock said with a smile. He reached out to help himself to some more pasta when the back door slammed open and Dawn burst in. She looked around quickly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Brock was the only one in the room.

"You were right, Brock," she said as she walked over to him. "May _does_ like him, but she didn't even realize it."

"How did she figure out it out?" Brock asked. Dawn grinned.

"I just spouted a lot of nonsense and hoped that I was right," she said, and then laughed. "Actually, all I did was describe what I thought those feelings are like. Luckily I was right, and May figured it out in the end."

"So they both like each other," Brock said, thinking. "The question is, how do we get them to realize it?" At this, Dawn scuffed her legs against the ground.

"Actually, I think I let it slip that Ash likes her," she said embarrassed. Brock stared at her.

"That may not be a bad thing in the long run," he said slowly. "May obviously likes Ash, and if she thinks that Ash likes her..."

"They might get together!" Dawn shouted in excitement.

"Who might get together?" Ash asked, entering the room. Dawn jumped in fright and Brock accidentally dropped his plate of pasta. Latias went over to him, chirping excitedly. "How you feeling, Latias?" he asked fondly, stroking her on the back. She pressed up against him, still chirping.

"Whew, good thing Latias was here," Brock whispered to Dawn. She nodded in agreement as he stooped to the floor and began to clean up his dropped pasta.

"No need to worry," she said back with a wink.

"So who were you guys talking about?" Ash asked, focused on them again. "Who might get together?"

Brock looked up at Dawn quickly; she looked down at him nervously. "Uhh, ummm..." he began.

"You and Latias," Dawn blurted, lying through her teeth. "You both seem to be really good friends, and she's really powerful. I was just saying to Brock how great it would be if you two were together."

Brock looked at her and groaned inwardly, burying his face in his hands. He'd never heard anything more absurd than someone capturing a legendary Pokemon. Noland befriending Articuno was one thing, but even Brandon's Regirock, Regice, and Registeel weren't really legendary; just extremely rare. He dreaded to think how Latias was going to react. He waited with closed eyes and bated breath.

"Latias... do you really want to come along with me?" he heard Ash ask. Brock cracked open an eye just in time to see Latias stare at him, completely open-mouthed.

_This can't be good_, he thought. Then, to his complete incredulity, Latias's shocked stare turned into the biggest smile he'd ever seen. She nodded her head eagerly before transforming into her human shape. She gave Ash a huge hug before reverting back into her normal form.

Brock was surprised to feel himself breathe again; he hadn't realized he was holding it in. He turned to Dawn and saw that she was shaking in relief.

"That was the worst lie I have ever heard in my life," he whispered. Dawn smiled back weakly.

"Good thing he bought it," she whispered back.

* * *

Ash sighed and stretched out against the tree comfortably. He had travelled through four regions and seen countless night skies, but this spot in the garden was his absolute favourite place to look at the stars. He looked upwards and saw that it had clouded over. He heard a hint of thunder in the air, and realized that there wouldn't be any star-watching tonight. Oh well, he thought. He gave another contented sigh and looked back out over the pond. 

"Ash?"

He started. He hadn't heard her walking towards him. He turned and found himself looking into May's dazzling sapphire eyes.

"Hey, May, what's up?" he asked. She sat down next to him and looked over the pond too. A light breeze ruffled past them, and Ash couldn't help noticing how her hair fluttered. His face tinged scarlet and he quickly turned away.

"Not a whole lot, really," she said softly. "Just thinking."

"Mind if I ask what about?" Ash asked.

"Just... stuff," she said, watching the ripples.

Ash sighed and leaned back. He knew that it was no good trying to probe May if she didn't feel comfortable talking at the moment; she'd tell him when she was ready. Then he remembered something. He reached around the side of the tree to where he'd strewn his travel pack and began to rummage in it.

May turned her head slightly to look at him. It was true that she was thinking about a lot of things, but Ash hadn't tried to pry. She felt exceedingly glad. _It's the mark of a true friend that he'll wait until I'm ready to tell_, she thought. She was surprised when Ash suddenly turned to her, holding a canister in his hands.

"Here, May. This is for you," he said. She took it with trembling hands.

"Ash, what is this?" she asked. He leaned over and pressed a small red button at the base of the canister. The opaque covering vanished, leaving the glass through which May could see a red-orange egg glinting sully in the moonlight. May began to feel her eyes glistening with tears.

"Ash... is this..?"

"It's an egg from a Charizard," he said. "Liza found it with Charla in the Charicific Valley, and she gave it to me. She thinks that it could be from my Charizard."

"Ash..." she whispered softly. To his complete surprise, she threw her arms around him and began sobbing into his shoulder.

"Wha?" he managed to stutter out. She continued to cry against him. Uncomfortably aware of her chest pressing against him, he patted her awkwardly on the back for a few moments. A horrible feeling of repetitiveness rose up inside him, but he didn't know what else to do. At last, May stopped and broke away from him.

"Ash, this means more to me than you realize," she whispered.

"Why?" he asked, confused. She gave him a truly radiant smile; he felt captivated by her gaze and couldn't turn away.

"Because it's a gift from you," she said. He felt his face burn, and he finally managed to look down.

"It's just a Pokemon egg," he muttered, completely embarrassed. "I just thought you'd like it since I have Charizard, and you already have a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle."

She smiled at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. _He really is a nice guy_, she thought. _I know he'd never hurt me like Drew did_.

A loud clap of thunder broke her train of thought and a rain drop landed squarely on her nose. She and Ash both leapt to their feet. "Come on, lets gets inside," Ash shouted, grabbing her hand and running to the house.

Panting, they managed to make it inside before the downpour really started. May looked down.

"Umm, Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you let go of my hand, please?" she asked. He let go with a start.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't even realize." May laughed and then dashed upstairs, holding the canister carefully.

"Race you to bed," she called down. "We have an early start tomorrow!"

* * *

**So that storm we saw a couple of chapters ago with Team Rocket, the mystery guy and his Tyranitar, Paul, and Drew has finally happened. Now that we're all caught up, the action should happen a little quicker! I thought I could go further with this chapter, but this really felt like the right place to end it. I'll see you all next chapter! Please review!**


	15. Rey

**I can't apologize enough for the long delay between these two chapters. My school work has escalated, my hours at work have increased, and I've been sick so I haven't had much time for any writing at all. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it though. Some of the events in this chapter I've wanted to include in the last three, but time/plot constraints means that I've had to wait until now to include it. Enjoy!**

* * *

May's eyes snapped open. She glanced around the dark room for a few moments before she found the digital clock. She gave a slight groan when she saw the time: 5:42. She pounded her pillow once in frustration. It was the fourth time she'd woken up that night. 

She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. She rolled over. She punched her pillow back into shape and tried sleeping on the other side. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock again: 6:03. With a resigned groan she sat up and began looking for her toothbrush and a towel. It didn't look as if she'd fall asleep again.

_Might as well get ready for the trip_, she thought. _No point in just waiting for everyone else to get up and then end up clogging the bathroom_. She glanced over at Dawn snoring lightly on the bed and shook her head. _She's had that bed every night_.

She grabbed her clothes and crept out the door into the hallway, taking care not to accidentally trip over Misty on her way out. She shut the door softly and tiptoed down the hallway towards the bathroom. She paused at the landing, surprised to see a light on downstairs. Her heart began to pound as she heard movement. _I hope it isn't a burglar_, she thought.

Still holding her clothes and towel in one arm, she fumbled quickly with the Poke Balls on the belt that was always attached to her pants. She found the one she wanted and released the Pokemon inside quickly, hoping that whoever was downstairs wouldn't hear the Ball opening.

"Vui?" her Eevee asked.

"There's someone downstairs," May whispered quietly. "I think it might be a burglar. I'll need your help if it is."

"Eievui," her Pokemon nodded. Slowly, May began to creep down the stairs. Her hands felt suddenly sticky with trepidation and she noticed that she was shaking a little. Pausing, she took a couple of deep breaths and then nodded, steeling herself.

She began to quietly walk down the last few steps, Eevee at her heels. She stopped at the foot and slowly peeked her head around the corner to see who was in the house.

"Good morning, May," Professor Oak smiled.

* * *

"I'm sorry I startled you, May," Professor Oak chuckled. "I've gotten up early every morning to look after the Pokemon for so long now that it's just become a habit." 

"I thought that you were a robber," she said faintly, holding the mug of tea the Professor had made for her. Ash laughed from the other side of the table.

"Only you could mistake Professor Oak for a thief, May" he chuckled.

"And what are you doing up so early?" May asked him accusingly. Ash shrugged.

"The same as you; I couldn't sleep either. I came down only a little while before you did and saw that Professor Oak was already awake, and looking really bored."

"I haven't had anything to do since my lab burned down," the Professor explained. "I'm so used to working as soon as I get up that it's quite a shock to just sit around doing nothing for a couple of hours. The only company I've normally got this early is Noctowl."

"Professor Oak was just telling me about his theory on why Latias was infected with Pokerus," Ash said to May. The Professor nodded.

"You see, May, everything on this planet is connected. Humans and Pokemon eat, drink, and interact with each other. When we die our bodies are returned to the earth so that new plants can grow and feed others. I hate to sound cliché, but the simplest name for it is the Circle of Life. Are you following me?" May nodded; it seemed pretty straightforward so far.

"Good. Now, while everything on the planet may be connected to everything else, living creatures are more closely linked to other living creatures than, say, a rock. And it divides again; humans connect on deeper levels to each other than to Pokemon, and vice versa. But then in Pokemon it divides again; a Ralts will connect more easily to other Psychic Pokemon than to a Ground type; within the Psychic grouping, it is closer to those in it's own evolutionary line than to Hypno. And of course, a Ralts will always connect more easily to another Ralts than to a Kirlia. Understand?"

"I think so," May said slowly. "It makes sense, but I can't quite see where you're going with it."

"It's because there is one group of Pokemon where these connections don't work," the Professor said. "This group of Pokemon is unique - in this group there are over 30 different species of Pokemon, and they represent nearly every type. Some of them are ancient in origin, so old that they are considered myths. Others are so rare that they are nearly one of a kind."

"Legendary Pokemon," Ash supplied.

"Exactly," Professor Oak nodded. "All of them are rare, and most are impossible to capture - although there are a few exceptions. They are so valuable that some people spend all of their lives searching, just to catch a brief glimpse of one; your uncle spent most of his life trying to catch sight of a Moltres, Ash."

"I still don't see what this has to do with Latias and the Pokerus," May said, puzzled.

"Legendary Pokemon are intimately connected with one other; at all times they can sense the presence of other legendary Pokemon, as well as how they are feeling. When the collector Lawrence III tried to capture the legendary birds in the Orange Islands, they could sense what was happening. When Zapdos felt Moltres's absence, it claimed Fire Island as it's own. The guardian Lugia sensed Moltres's capture and went to try and free the legendary Pokemon.

"Why did Suicune suddenly appear to try and help Celebi when it was caught and corrupted? How did Rayquaza know that the Deoxys was hiding in LaRousse City; in fact, how did the Deoxys know that the core of another Deoxys was being kept there? Why did Rayquaza suddenly appear over the stadium, and attack only Latias? It all boils down to the connection that legendary Pokemon share with one another."

"So... you're saying that you think it was this connection between Rayquaza and Latias that passed on the Pokerus?" May asked.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Professor Oak replied. "Legendaries are so closely linked that they don't need physical contact to pass on the Pokerus." He sighed and looked towards the window and the dark world beyond. "Unfortunately, if I'm right, it means that other legendaries could also be infected. I have no idea how close they'd need to be to pass on the disease through their connection, but if it's any great distance than we could be looking at an epidemic."

* * *

"Now you'll be sure to look after yourself, won't you?" Delia asked as she fussed over Ash. 

"Of course I will," he said, trying to wave her away as she attacked his head with a comb.

"You will treat all of your Pokemon equally, won't you?" Professor Oak asked, stepping in front of Delia. "You've never had so many Pokemon on your team at once while you travel, and they'll all need extra-special care. It's one of the reasons why most trainers are only allowed to carry six at a time."

"Don't worry, Professor," Ash said with a smile. "I'll be sure to look after them all. I'm only taking one of my Tauros though; I'll leave the rest here to help rebuild the lab."

"Thank you, Ash, they'll do wonders I'm sure. Now, I have something for you, May," he said, moving to the side and allowing Delia to attack Ash's hair again.

"For me?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes. You haven't caught anywhere near as many Pokemon as Ash, but you've proven yourself to be an exceptional trainer who takes amazing care of their Pokemon. So, I'd like to give you this." He placed an ordinary PokeDex in her hands.

"A PokeDex?" she asked, confused.

"Yes and no," he said. "You see, a PokeDex isn't just a protable encyclopedia, it's also your ID. It can tell anyone who you are, what you've captured, what Pokemon are on your team at the moment, and the number of Pokemon you're allowed to carry. This is called an Ex-Dex. It stands for "Expanded PokeDex, and it's the same thing that Ash got when he became a Frontier Brain."

"You mean, I can carry more than six Pokemon?" she asked. Professor Oak nodded.

"That's right," he said. "I know that you'll treat all of them well, so this is my gift to you."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I really appreciate this."

"We know," Norman laughed, stepping forward. He wrapped his arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Travel safe," he said.

"We'll miss you, but we'll be waiting at home when you come back," Caroline added as she joined the hug. May gently detached herself from the two.

"We'd better get going now," she said. "Bye Mom, Dad. I'll see you soon, Max. Good luck in Johto!"

"Right back at you," Max said with a grin.

Waving backwards at the crowd of friends and family, Ash, May, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu began to walk in the direction of Viridian City. A light breeze ruffled the grass around them and helped to cool them momentarily from the delicious warmth of the sun.

Ash stopped at the top of the hill closest to Pallet and turned momentarily, looking back at the town. His house was no longer visible, but the destroyed lab was plain to see. He stretched and looked up at the sun before turning back to his friends.

"Looks like we're finally travelling again," he said with a grin.

A clawed hand came rocketing out of the bushes and snapped itself around Pikachu.

"Hey!" Ash shouted, whirling towards the bushes as Pikachu was retracted.

"Prepare for trouble!" an ominous voice snarled.

"Are you _still_ after Pikachu?" May asked in amazement as Jessie stepped out of the bushes. "I'd have thought that after ten years of failure you'd have given up."

"Think again, twerp," she smirked. "Looks like I've got Pikachu in the bag. Soon as I get back to headquarters I can use a Dark Ball and give your yellow rat to the boss!"

"I'm not going to let that happen!" Ash shouted. "Heracro-"

"Seviper, Poison Tail!" Jessie shouted. Her Seviper burst from the Poke Ball, tail glowing a menacing purple. It held it's tail at Pikachu's throat; Pikachu instantly stopped struggling. From the trees behind them, a figure burst out and wrapped his arms securely around May, pinning her arms tightly to her sides. She screamed in fright as he dragged her backwards a few paces.

Ash turned again, the Poke Ball in his hand. He looked in dismay as his eyes met Drew's.

"Well, this is a problem, isn't it," Jessie said with a toying smile. "The girl or the Pokemon? Who are you going to save?"

"Drew won't hurt May," Ash said confidently. "He's just keeping her safe. All I need to do is take out your Seviper." Drew snorted and Jessie giggled.

"Riiight, Drew won't hurt May," she said with a raised eyebrow. "How can you be so sure he won't try something else?"

"Get off me!" May screamed, trying to stamp on Drew's feet.

"If you go for the girl, say goodbye to your Pikachu," Jessie said menacingly, nodding to Seviper - the Poison Tail was flicked an inch closer and Pikachu strained to move it's neck away.

"If you try to save Pikachu, you can forget about travelling with May," Drew added. Ash stood in the centre, his mind torn as he turned from May to Pikachu, and back to May again.

Dawn tried to reach for a Poke Ball surreptitiously.

"Take your hands away from your Poke Balls," Drew snarled, watching her every move. Dawn swallowed and slowly moved her hands away.

"Looks like we've won this one, twerps," Jessie said with a smile, beginning to edge around in a circle until she stood next to Drew. "We've both got what we wanted. Come on Drew, let's go."

"Vine Whip!" a voice shouted. Ash twisted as several vines shot past him, much thicker than those on his Bulbasaur and Bayleef. One of the vines shot into the extendable arm that Jessie was holding, snapping it in two and causing it to spark dangerously; a second smashed into Seviper's head at full force, knocking it out cold. A second pair wrapped around May and shot into Drew. He doubled over in pain and let go of May, who was quickly reeled in.

"Why you..." Drew growled as he got to his feet, clutching his stomach. "Flygon, come on out!" With a roar, his Pokemon appeared.

"Heracross, I choose you!" Ash shouted, finally able to send out his Pokemon.

"Flygon, use Flamethrower!" Drew yelled.

"Venusaur, counter with Solarbeam!" the voice commanded.

"Heracross, Megahorn!" Ash shouted.

The Flamethrower and Solarbeam collided, causing an explosion. Heracross burst through the smoke with a glowing horn and smashed into Flygon's unprotected belly. The Pokemon gasped and freefell to earth at the intensity of the attack.

"Flygon!" Drew gasped. He recalled his Pokemon, gave the group a dirty look, and ran back into the forest. Ash, May, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu all turned to Jessie, who stood seemingly rooted on the spot, and still holding the sparking arm.

"Ummm," she managed to squeak out before the power shortage in the arm overloaded. It exploded, and with a scream, Jessie was launched high into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again," Ash said softly before turning to see the Venusaur and it's owner approaching. She wore a sleeveless blue shirt with matching socks and a red skirt. Her long brown hair cascaded down to the small of her back, and was held down in places by the strap of the yellow bag she carried over one shoulder. Her green eyes sparkled underneath a brimmed white hat.

"Good to see you again, Ash," she said with a playful smile on her face. "I was wondering if I'd see you before you left on another journey again. Good thing I came after you; it looks like you were in quite the dilemma."

"Rey," Ash said, stepping forward with a huge grin. "Have you started training again?" May, Brock, and Dawn all stood and watched in shock as both Rey and Ash broke into laughter and embraced.

A cold pit formed in May's stomach and began to spread upwards. Her eyes began to glisten as she held back tears and stepped backwards. With a sob, she turned and ran down the path, holding an arm to her eyes.

"I'll go after her," Dawn said, and quickly followed May, with Pikachu close behind.

* * *

Pain coursed throughout his body again, but this time he knew that it was not external. This time, he knew that it came from within. A cloud seemed to hang heavily directly over his head as delusional images swam before his mind. He clasped a three-fingered hand to his heart and did his best to shut out the images, but still they came. 

_They know_, he thought. _Somehow they know. They've found me here, and now they're trying to incapacitate me, make me helpless so they can capture me! I've been here too long, I need to go on to Vermillion City. I've... Nyyaaarrrrhhh!!!_

Throughout Cerulean City, people stopped and stared, puzzled and a little afraid. They had all heard the scream.

Spread-eagled on a rooftop, the caped figure lay immobile and unconscious; utterly helpless.

* * *

**Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long delay. For those of you wondering who Rey is, she's partly an OC and partly not. As some of you might have guessed from the description, she's based on the female trainer of FireRed/LeafGreen (and in this story, one of the two other trainers who started from Pallet with Gary and Ash; remember those two?) Again, I'm sorry for the delays, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter up (but I'll do my best to make it happen quickly!) As usual, please review!**


	16. Capture

**Here's chapter sixteen, part of a double upload today! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

James looked longingly at the apple trees on the side of the road. He glanced up and saw Paul walking resolutely onwards, hands in his pocket, completely silent. He sighed and trudged on after him, stomach rumbling. 

Travelling with Paul hadn't exactly been a fun experience. They had walked almost non-stop, resting only infrequently. On the rare occasions when they did stop, Paul battled his Pokemon against each other relentlessly. It had been a real shock to James the first time he saw a five-on-one battle.

"We're almost there," Paul said, breaking the long silence that had stretched between them at last. James hurried up to where Paul was standing and realized that he had only been talking into his Poketch. He saw Paul glance back at him and then turn back, lowering his voice and covering his mouth with his hand. He spoke for a few more moments, nodded once and then deftly shut the lid.

"My father is going to meet us here," Paul said, sitting down on a fallen log.

"Eh... why not just keep on going if that's where we're heading?" James asked.

"Because," Paul said, his dark eyes boring into James, "he wants us to wait here. Okay?"

"Okay," James muttered. Then his expression brightened as an idea struck him. "Come on out," he called, throwing four Poke Balls into the air. In a blaze of brilliant red light, Cacnea, Carnivine, Mime Jr, and Fearow appeared. He smiled happily as they stretched in midair. The smile quickly turned into a little shriek of horror and pain as Cacnea and Carnivine enveloped him fondly in a tight hug.

"Pathetic," Paul snorted, turning to look into the forest.

"What's so pathetic about letting out your Pokemon for a little fresh air?" James asked, feeling slightly abashed for some strange reason.

"You mean that you actually want them to enjoy themselves?" Paul asked.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Because Pokemon are just tools. They aren't supposed to enjoy themselves,; their only purpose is to be used in battle. You let them have fun, and they'll start thinking you're all friends."

"But we are," James protested. Paul snorted again.

"It's pathetic," he repeated. "Friendship makes a Pokemon weaker. If they think that you'll forgive them when you lose a battle, they'll just give up as soon as they start getting hurt."

"That's not true!" James shouted, leaping up in anger. Paul looked at him coldly.

"Oh really? Then tell me; when was the last time you and your 'friends' won a battle?"

James looked at him, a sinking feeling in his chest. Perhaps Paul was right. It had been a long time since he'd won a battle. Several years in fact.

"You see?" Paul said softly. "Being friends with a Pokemon just holds you back. You can only unleash their full power if you treat them like the inferior creatures they are." He turned and looked back into the forest. "Good, he's arrived."

James looked and started. Ringed in the trees around them were a group of people dressed in black, a large red 'R' splashed across their chests. A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in an orange suit stepped forward. His gaze rested on James for a moment and a contemptuous smile curled across his face.

"Good work, Paul," he said, turning to the lavender-haired trainer. "It looks as if Cassidy and Butch have failed since you've brought him... alive." Paul shrugged.

"He was stuck in a tree and being attacked by a flock of Fearow when I found him. Apparently he was in the Colosseum with the others when a Hyper Beam knocked them all off in different directions. It could be that your mercenaries are still trailing the other two. I figured it was best if I brought him back for you to deal with personally, father."

Giovanni nodded, his sharp gaze wandering over a trembling and clearly bewildered James. "Didn't my son tell you?" he asked silkily.

"T-tell me what, s-sir?" James stammered. Giovanni took a step forward and kneeled so that he was at James's level.

"My dear, dear, James," he said softly, almost kindly. "You've cost our organization a pretty penny over the years; too much for so little result. You're expendable. I recently sent out a Rocket duo to try and find your little trio. Their sole orders were to kill you on the spot." James blanched, and Giovanni reached out to clasp his shoulder. "But now that you're here..." he whispered.

He whirled and thrust James away from him; the white-garbed Team Rocket member stumbled backwards and was grabbed by several of the grunts.

"Take him back to headquarters," Giovanni snapped. "I'm not in the mood to deal with him now. Put him in Silver's cell. I'll finish with what's left of him later. Seize his Pokemon and store them away. Paul, I want to see you in my office the moment we get back. Move!"

In minutes, the forest was still and silent. There was no sign of the confrontation that had just occurred aside from a small Fearow which perched hidden in a tree, it's tears streaming to earth.

* * *

"Not including our first specimen we have now obtained a Raikou, Suicune, Regice, and Uxie, not forgetting the Rayquaza that terrorized Southern Kanto," Giovanni told his son, reclining slightly in his chair. Paul nodded slowly. 

"Quite the accomplishment," he drawled, "especially with capturing that Rayquaza. But forgive me; you need one specimen of every legendary Pokemon, and yet Latios is dead - your henchwomen saw to that." A crooked smile crossed Giovanni's lips.

"Oh, I imagine that Annie and Oakley are quite relieved to still be incarcerated at the moment," he said. "Their mission was simple: capture Latios and Latias. I still do not understand why they chose to try and steal a trinket and kill Latios instead of the simple recovery that I outlined for them. It is of no importance, though. There are other Latios in the wild, and Professor Namba has recently discovered their migration routes. We should soon have one under our possession, enlarging our collection."

"And as more legendaries are captured, brought here, and infected, the rest will feel a stronger and stronger urge to come and free their brethren, because of their connection to one another" Paul stated, knowing what his father had planned to say next.

"Exactly," Giovanni said., "and once we have one of every species collected here we will be able to call the ultimate Pokemon back to this reality. Now, I have a new mission for you. I need you to go to Hoenn. We have uncovered evidence that Celebi is currently residing in Petalburg Forest; I want you to capture it."

"We're talking about a legendary Pokemon," Paul said. "With the exception of Brandon's weakling Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, none have ever been captured. I don't think it's possible to poach a Pokemon with the kind of hidden strength that Celebi has." Giovanni stood and looked out of the window.

"Several years ago, we almost caught Celebi," he said. "I sent out our number-one field specialist at the time; Vicious. He collaborated with Namba to produce one of the ultimate Poke Balls. It captures any Pokemon, even those belonging to other trainers, without fail." He turned and threw a black sphere at Paul, who caught it in reflex.

"A Dark Ball," Paul muttered, examining it closely. Giovanni nodded.

"A Dark Ball," he acknowledged. "Use this to capture Celebi. Take someone with you, I don't care who. Just bring me back Celebi as quickly as possible. Stop by in Johto on the way back; I need you to pay a visit to Kurt of Azalea Town. He has something that I require for our purpose."

Paul nodded silently and watched as his father sat and faced the window again, understanding that he was dismissed. Stiffly, he turned and left his father's office. He walked down the hall and quickly descended down a flight of stairs. He knew exactly who to take with him.

* * *

James shrank back as far as he could, doing his best to avoid meeting the fiery gaze of his cell-mate who sat on the floor opposite him. 

"I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on a Rocket," the man growled. James gulped nervously. "I don't know even know why I'm in here; perhaps you can shed some light on the mystery?" he continued.

"I'm afraid I can't," James said, licking his dry lips nervously. "All I know is that they're holding me here until they're ready to kill me."

"Probably hoping that I'll do the job for them," the man chuckled darkly, his long steely-grey hair swinging as he got to his feet, cracking his knuckles.

"A-are you going to?" James asked almost inaudibly.

"Nah, I'm no murderer. Although I sure would like a shot at that Giovanni and that Namba! If I still had my Salamence..."

"You mean that you don't?" James blurted out.

"What kind of mud do you have for brains, half-pint?" the man demanded. "You think your boss is foolish enough to put me in here with a Pokemon? My Salamence or Chikorita could break me outta here with no problem. Huh, I don't even know how they managed to catch me."

"Is your name Silver, by any chance?" James asked hesitantly.

"Sure is," the man drawled. "Silver's my name, and Pokemon is the game. My goal is to have a real battle with Moltres one day; without being interrupted by Team Rocket."

James gulped as the man took several strides towards him, grabbed him by the collar, and pinned him up against the wall.

"I don't know what you guys have against me, but I sure ain't impressed," he breathed. "I want to know why I'm in here, and I want to know now!"

"Put him down, Silver," a cold voice drawled. Silver half-turned, still holding James by the shirt.

"What do you want, half-pint?" he asked.

"I've come for him," Paul said, pointing at James. Silver looked at Paul scornfully.

"Why, because you're worried I might hurt him? Don't want your friend damaged?"

"He is being given his last chance at life," Paul said flatly. "He's coming with me on a special mission. Now put him down. Don't make me use my Electivire."

"Tough kid," Silver taunted, "having to hide behind your Pokemon. Tell you what, why don't you come in here without any Pokemon and try to get him away from me."

"I don't play that way," Paul said, tossing a Poke Ball into the air and releasing his Electivire. "Thunderbolt," he ordered. Silver screamed as the volts coursed through his system, forcing him to drop a terrified James to the ground. Paul watched him emotionlessly, allowing the attack to continue for a good deal longer than was necessary. At last he raised his arm, and the Thunderbolt stopped. Silver slumped to the floor, groaning slightly.

"Out," he ordered James.

"I... I don't understand," James murmured as he crawled out of the cell, followed closely by Electivire.

"I told you, you've got one last chance to save your life," Paul said impatiently as he slammed the cell door shut and took out the key. "We're going to Hoenn. I want to be back in forty-eight hours, so you'd better not slow me up."

"Hoenn?" James asked. "But, what about my Pokemon?"

"You can take your Cacnea," Paul said. "The rest stay here. Now move."

"How do I know I can trust you?" James asked shrewdly. "You've already lied to me once, about the six-course meal." Paul rolled his eyes, whirled and grabbed him by the shoulder. They stared at each other for a moment.

"You have to trust me because you'll die if you don't," Paul hissed. "If you don't want to die, then follow me." He strode off quickly, leaving James rooted to the spot in bewilderment.

In the cell, Silver regained consciousness. He let out a moan of pain as static electricity crackled across his body. He struggled to his feet and leaned heavily against an iron wall. He cursed in surprise as the wall swung outwards, sending him crashing to the ground. Dazed, he looked up and realized that he was in the hallway. He scrambled to his feet and examined the wall closely.

"That kid," he whispered. "He forgot to lock the door!" He let out a laugh and cracked his knuckles. "This is going to be fun," he grinned. "Let's see how Team Rocket handles this!"

* * *

**As usual, please review! If you have any questions feel free to ask them, and I'll answer next time around.**


	17. Memory

**This is just a short little chapter. Still, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_May squinted slightly as the bright sunlight washed over her face, almost seeming to tickle her eyelids. Grumbling sleepily, she rolled over. She stretched, and bolted back her hand as she felt it touch something warm and soft. Panicking, she moved as away from the unknown entity as fast as she could while her lower torso was still entangled in a sleeping bag._

_She stared at the sleeping bag that had lain next to hers in early-morning confusion. Then, with a slight motion, Drew's head appeared from beneath the cover. She relaxed as the previous days events came back to her. She had been on her way to Ecruteak City when she'd met Drew training his new Furret for the next contest. It had been getting dark, so they both decided to camp where they were, and travel to the next contest together._

_May looked at him and smiled. It would certainly be nice to have someone to travel with again. She been going solo for so long, that she was actually quite lonely for some human company. Heck, she was so desperate for another person to talk too that she wouldn't even mind if Max showed up out of nowhere and started to bug here._

_She cast her eyes downward, feeling sad at the thought of her brother. Here she was in Johto, while he was on his own journey in Hoenn. She wondered briefly what Pokemon he'd caught, and how many badges he'd won so far. She gave a little sigh - she hadn't been able to get in touch with him since she'd left for Johto._

_Thinking of Max, she couldn't help remembering her other friends. She thought briefly of Brock, wondering if he was still at the Pewter Gym now or if he'd gone on after -_

_She closed her eyes, shaking her head to lose the thought that had been dangerously close to breaking through again. Ever since their group had split up, she couldn't even think his name without feeling a twinge of pain. And thinking about him brought a world of loss._

_"I don't know what's wrong with me," she muttered to herself. "I can think of Max and Brock, so why is it that everytime I think of... of him, I start feeling so depressed?"_

_"Hmm? Thinking about me?" she heard Drew ask. She snapped her head upright, pink tinges in her cheeks._

_"No, no, of course not, why would I be thinking of you?" May asked, laughing nervously as she waved a hand in dismissal. Drew shrugged._

_"I dunno, but you were thinking about some guy and I figured there was as much a chance of it being me as the next guy."_

_"Eavesdropper," May muttered. Drew laughed and stood up, stretching in the sunlight._

_"Come on," he said, "lets start breakfast. If we eat quickly enough, we could make it to Ecruteak by nightfall."_

_"Sounds good," May said, jumping up. "You cook the food, I'll do the fire."_

_"Good luck with getting it started," Drew snorted. "Remember the trouble you had last night? It's a wonder you ever had a fire when you travelled with Max, Brock, and-"_

_"Brock normally lit the fire, he was good at those kinds of things," May cut in quickly. "I'll get it started though, don't you worry about that."_

_"Sure, I'd like to see you try it," Drew bantered humourously. "Looks like we'll be having cold bread instead of toast."_

_May grinned as he turned and began to rummage in his bag for the food. Making sure that he couldn't see her, she quietly called out a Pokemon, set up a tepee of sticks, and whispered her instructions. Drew turned and gaped at the hot fire that sat between them._

_"Hey, how'd you make a fire so big so quickly? How'd you even get it _lit_?"_

_"Trade secret," May smiled, enjoying his confusion. Drew stared at her, completely astonished, and May laughed at his amazement. Then Drew caught sight of the Blaziken standing behind her._

_"Hey, that's not fair! You used your Pokemon to start it!" Drew protested._

_"Whatever works," May said, smiling sweetly. "Now, I think you said you were going to cook breakfast?"_

_Muttering darkly to himself, Drew put a few slices of bread in a frying pan and began to cook them over the fire. May smiled inwardly as she sat back down on her sleeping bag and watched him do all of the work._

* * *

May was jolted out of her memory by the sound of Dawn gasping as she drew closer to the rock where May sat. She stood there a moment, holding a hand to her chest as she took ragged breaths before flopping down next to May. 

"Boy, you can really run," Dawn gasped. May didn't respond.

"Why'd you run off like that, May?" Dawn asked. "Didn't you want to meet Rey? She seems like a really nice person."

"Oh she does, does she?" May asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let me ask you something, Dawn. The other day, you let it slip that Ash likes me after I tell you that I like him. So what happens? He gives a big hug to this girl who just comes waltzing up when he's never even given me a little hug, the girl he's supposed to like. So what does that tell you, Dawn?"

Dawn looked at her fellow coordinator who glanced away, refusing to meet her eyes. Still, Dawn had seen the tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks.

"I think you've got it all wrong, May," she said softly. "Ash doesn't like Rey in that way at all. They're just childhood friends who were separated by their journeys. That hug he gave her was just an 'its-great-to-see-you-I-haven't-seen-you-in-years-how-have-you-been' hug, not an 'I love you' hug."

"Then why hasn't he ever given me a hug, when we've been separated like that?" May asked, her voice fluctuating slightly as she tried desperately not to cry. Dawn sighed.

"I don't know him as well as you, or Brock do, May," she said. "But if I what Brock told me is right, Ash lost all contact with her. He hasn't spoken to her since the day before he started his Pokemon journey, and that was ten years ago. He hasn't even been able to just say "hi" over the videophone. At least you two were able to keep in touch." She stood up and brushed a little dust off her skirt.

"I'm going to go back," she said. "I think you probably should, too. Rey and her Venusaur did save you after all; you should at least say thank you." May nodded quietly and spoke almost inaudibly.

"You go ahead. I'll be there soon." Dawn nodded and headed back towards Ash, Brock, and Rey.

May waited until she heard her footsteps fade, and then released all of the raw emotion that was pent up inside of her. The wrenching feeling that she had unfairly judged Ash; the guilt that she hated Rey before she'd even said one word to her; her memories of travelling with Drew in Johto.

"What went wrong?" she whispered to herself. "What changed him from a friend to a monster?"

She sat there for what seemed to be a long time until she had cried all of her emotion out. Then, wiping her face with her sleeve, she got unsteadily to her feet and began walking back to her friends.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of today's double upload. I'll try and get another chapter up soon, but who knows when I'll get it done? I have a Biology test tomorrow, a Chemistry report due tomorrow, a Biology report due Thursday, a Law report due Friday. Oh, I'll also be away all weekend touring a university I want to go to, and then working on Monday. Gaaahhhh!**

**Please review!**


	18. Conversation

**Yeah, this is another short upload, but it's all I have to put up at the moment. Xaotladv, the reason why Drew became a "monster" will be revealed in the future (I can't say anymore here!) And Lord Vurtax, I based Rey off of the game design for the female character of Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen. Her default name in-game is actually Leaf, but I wanted to choose something less obvious. So I searched for her alternate names, and Rey was the only one I saw that I liked. **

**Do you know what really makes me mad? When people read your stories and then steal your ideas for their own stories. I just had this happen very recently to me (in the last three days or so), and I have to say that I am not exactly happy about it. It's called plagiarism guys, and it's illegal everywhere. If you like what you read in my fanfiction thats great, but don't take parts of my story and put them into yours. At the very least you should have the decency to contact me about it. I am really upset about this.**

**Okay, rant over. I hope you enjoy Chapter Eighteen!**

* * *

"If she'd only gotten a little closer to the trees. We could have grabbed her!" Cassidy complained to Butch. He peered nervously out from behind the bushes and motioned for her to lower her voice before answering. 

"At least we know that our guess was right; she is following those kids. All we have to do is follow them, and she'll turn up eventually."

"I wonder where James and that Meowth have gone," Cassidy frowned. "It's weird that she was working with that green-haired kid instead of her partners. Do you think something happened to them?"

"I hope so," Butch muttered, his head turned away. "I still don't think I could kill them."

"Neither do I, Butch," Cassidy said. She grabbed his arm and forced him to meet her eyes. "But we've got to. If we don't, it's our own necks on the line. Now come on, let's keep following these kids. It looks like their going to Viridian City, but I don't want to risk beating them there only to find out that they've bypassed it."

"Sure. Whatever," Butch answered unhappily.

* * *

Rey watched curiously out of the corner of her eye as May ran off, followed quickly by Dawn. 

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Brock said before she could ask. "I'm sure Dawn will sort it out."

"She seems very, ah, emotional," Rey said, looking directly at Ash. He hesitated for a moment.

"Good to see you again, Rey," he said weakly, spreading his arms wide. She looked at him, completely unimpressed.

"Don't try and pull the innocent act with me, Ash Ketchum," she said. "Maybe I haven't seen you for a couple of years, but we were best friends growing up and I know you a lot better than you realize." She stepped close until her face was right in his, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I know what it feels like; I've been there. I also know what it feels like to be treated badly. You'd better treat her right, or I'll be coming after you."

As Ash began to sweat, Rey stepped back and spoke normally again. "Even Masters get caught up in their training," she said to him. "Just try to remember the people around you too, 'kay?"

Ash stood still, a little unsure of what to do as Rey turned and greeted Brock. "I guess she doesn't know me a well as she thinks she does," he muttered under his breath, beginning to wish that he'd run after May instead of Dawn.

"So, Brock, do you remember our battle?" Rey asked. He laughed.

"Do I ever! That was one of the best battles that I ever had as gym leader! I thought I had you beat easily when Geodude took out your Rattata in one attack, but your Bulbasaur was fantastic; I still can't believe that you combined Razor Leaf with Petal Dance to make a Leaf Storm, even though your Bulbasaur didn't know the attack. Using Petal Dance to create a cloud of leaves, and then using Razor Leaf to propel it into Onix was just fantastic. I still haven't seen anything like it since."

Rey laughed. "How'd Ash do against you?" she asked.

"Well, he won the second time, but it was kind of a fluke. I actually ended up just giving him the badge because he walked out in the middle of the battle."

"What?" Rey asked, completely shocked. "Why would he do that?" Brock smiled, remembering the first time he'd battled the fourth trainer from Pallet.

* * *

_The Gym was dark; as usual, Brock kept his eyes partially closed. Over time he had discovered that this helped him to sense both his and the opponent Pokemon's movement in battle. It was a technique that he would adapt for life, although he did not know it at the time. _

_The heavy stone doors slowly creaked open. Brock stirred on the hard, granite seat; he could only assume that this was the fourth and final beginning trainer from Pallet Town. He was determined to win this match, feeling mortified with himself for losing three in a row against rookies._

_"I'm here for a Gym Battle," the trainer declared boldly, stepping forwards. Brock made out a Pikachu at his side and grinned inside. If this trainer was using a Pikachu, the battle should be a piece of cake. The lights snapped on and Brock vaulted from his chair, landing neatly on the gym floor. He recited the rules of the Pewter Gym and Ash sent his Pikachu forward._

_Moving back to his battle box Brock decided to end the match right there and then, sending out his Onix. The Pikachu shot out a weak electric attack which did absolutely nothing to the rock-snake. One quick Bind attack from Onix, and the match was over. He watched as the young trainer ran from the Gym with the Pikachu in his arms, feeling a little sympathy. He could only imagine how humiliating it must be to lose so badly..._

_He was surprised the next day when the trainer returned, looking more confident than ever. They began the rematch, with the trainer sending out a Pidgeotto and Brock choosing Geodude. It didn't take long for the flying-type to be knocked out, but Ash stunned Brock by choosing his Pikachu as his final Pokemon. He was stunned again when a much more powerful electric attack than the one used the day before knocked out his Geodude cleanly. A grudging respect began to grow for the young trainer; even though both of his choices were at massive type disadvantages, the trainer refused to give up and found ways to win. Brock could see raw talent, and he admired the boy for it._

_He knew that the match was his to win though, and he sent out his Onix for a rematch of the day before. He watched grimly as the rock-type used a Bind on the Pikachu again. The young trainer shouted out an attack command desperately but the electricity had absolutely no effect, deflecting off of Onix to smash harmlessly into the ceiling. Brock knew that he'd won again._

_Then Onix roared out in pain; Brock gasped in shock as the sprinkler system, razed by the electricity, short-circuited and sent torrents of water downwards, drenching everything on the field. He didn't see what happened next but a blinding flash lit the Gym and Onix crashed to the floor, releasing the Bind as it moaned in pain._

* * *

"Wait, let me see if I've got this right," Rey interrupted. "Ash won the match because the _sprinklers_ went off?" She roared in laughter, causing Brock to frown. 

"In our first match I could see that the Bind attack was really hurting Pikachu, and it was in no state to fight. So I called the bind off. Ash forfeited the match and took his Pikachu to the Pokemon Centre. In our rematch, it was Onix who couldn't fight anymore, because of a fluke more than anything else. The water combined with the electricity to do what electricity alone couldn't do. But Ash called off the match again. He knew that winning because of malfunctioning sprinklers wasn't really winning at all. He just walked out of the Gym, there and then."

"So why'd you give him the badge if he didn't beat you?" Rey asked.

"A gym badge signifies a trainer's skill; defeating a gym leader takes lots of hard work to do. But what happens if a trainer comes close to victory and just can't quite pull it out in the end? Ash may not have had the raw power or the right strategy, but he proved that he had the right heart. That's why I gave him the badge."

"Wow," Rey said. "I didn't realize that there was more to gym battling then just beating a trainer. So how come you decided to leave the gym and follow Ash?" Brock chose not to answer straight away, diverting his gaze instead to the large Venusaur that stood nearby, eyes closed as it rested in the sun.

"So, I'm guessing that this evolved from your Bulbasaur?" he asked her. She nodded proudly. "Yup, the same. I've kept her with me all of this time, even though I never actually competed in a League."

"Why not?" Brock asked, surprised. "You did a fantastic job against me, and I've always thought that you could get into the top eight." Rey shrugged.

"It just never worked out for me," she said. "I was doing really well at first, but by the time I got to the sixth gym I'd just worn my Pokemon out. I was travelling so quickly that I never trained my Pokemon properly. I never did beat the sixth gym, or any other gym for that matter. I just wasn't strong or smart enough to realize that I had to train my Pokemon before I could battle with them." Ash finally snapped out of his thoughts and wandered over.

"What other Pokemon do you have, Rey?" he asked, looking at her Venusaur.

"Take a look!" she smiled, throwing two more balls into the air. In the familiar burst of red light, a Farfetch'd and a Xatu appeared.

"Awesome, a Farfetch'd and Xatu!" Ash said, gazing at the two Pokemon. "You must have had a hard time catching them, they're both really rare!"

"It's easier than people think," Rey smiled as Dawn reappeared in the group.

"She's on her way back," she said to them. "I think she's okay now." Rey looked uneasily in the direction that May had run.

"Do you think I should go ahead?" she asked them.

"No," Dawn said, shaking her head. "I think you should be here; I kind of got the feeling that she wanted to talk."

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter even though it was short and mostly filler. This may be the last time I update for a VERY long time though - it seems as if most (if not all) of my writing will have to be done on the school computers during my spare, for complicated reasons. I'll be sure to keep writing though, and I will update when I can! As usual, please review; each and every one helps me to build the story and address any oversights I've made.**

**On a side note, you may recall me saying in my first chapter that I hoped that my (completed) fanfiction would be at least half the length of PikamasterADV's "_May's Crush_". That story was 35 chapters long, and this chapter officially makes my story half the length of "_May's Crush_". And now that my original goal is reached, I can safely say that I'm just getting started! Who knows, it could end up having even more chapters than PikamasterADV's story (although I do note his chapters are much longer than mine are.)**


	19. Lessons

**I know it's been a couple of days, but I hope that it's worth the wait; Chapter 19 is my longest chapter yet, even longer than the battle between Ash and Cynthia! Enjoy! **

* * *

Dawn stopped and stared at the sight that spread out before her. A wide grin split her face and she dashed back to where Ash, Brock, May, and Rey were resting. 

"Guys, it's just up ahead," she said excitedly. "It's Viridian City!" Rey jumped to her feet and looked north eagerly.

"Then let's get moving!" she said. "We've gotten here a lot earlier than I thought we would. Come on guys, if we hurry we can get some good room at the Pokemon Centre!"

"The Pokemon Centre!" Brock exclaimed, a goofy smile beginning to spread over his face. "What are we waiting for then?" Without looking back, he tore off down the path. Rey stared after him open-mouthed and looked sideways at Ash.

"Is he always this, uh, enthusiastic about going to a Centre?" she asked uncertainly.

"Let me put it this way," Dawn intervened, a wicked grin on her face. "His goal is to become the world's greatest breeder."

"Oh, that would explain it," Rey said, failing to noticing the double entendre as she began walking down the path with Dawn right behind her. May and Ash both rolled their eyes at each other as they followed, Pikachu on Ash's shoulder as usual.

"How long do you think it will take for him to get to the Centre?" May asked Ash.

"Probably about a minute," he answered with a laugh. He turned a corner and saw Dawn and Rey frozen in shock. A Rhydon stood in the middle of the path, Brock just in front of it. It snorted at them and flexed it's arms menacingly when Brock shuffled slightly to the side.

"Rhydon," a voice called out, "I told you to stop them, but you weren't supposed to scare them." The Rhydon turned and they saw Noland walking up the path towards them, a cheery grin on his face. "Sorry about that," he said as he recalled his Pokemon. "We've had a devil of a job trying to find you. All of the press are still here believe it or not, and we've been hard pressed to keep them away from Pallet Town."

"You mean the other Frontier Brains?" Ash asked. Noland nodded.

"That's right. It's been a couple of days since that Rayquaza attacked and vanished, but because you went straight back to Pallet Town everyone still wants to know what happened to you. Half of the planet seems to think that you just disappeared into thin air!" Ash felt a sudden guilty surge.

"What about Cynthia?" he asked. "I can't believe that I don't know this, but did she get out okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," he said. "She left the Colosseum when her last Pokemon was taken out by the Rayquaza, so she got out before it collapsed. She came straight to Viridian City. I can tell you that it's been a couple of very trying days for her; the press won't stop asking her about where she thinks you are, how she feels the match was going, etc. She's only stayed here as long as she has because we were all waiting for you to show up, and none of us knew how long that would be."

"Why not just call his house?" Brock asked. "That would have been the easiest thing to do."

"We tried, dozens of times," Noland explained. "The line was disconnected; we think that the Professor probably did that so that the press couldn't call, just to give you a couple of days peace from the media."

"So how come you've all been looking for us?" Dawn asked.

"Well, only Anabel, Lucy, and I have actually been trying to find you," Noland said. "Greta, Tucker, and Brandon have all been handling the press with Cynthia." He laughed. "It's a dream job for Tucker, I can tell you that! You know how much he loves the limelight. At the rate he's going, he'll have a talk show on every channel before the month is out!" His face grew serious. "But as to why we've been looking for you, it's so that we can get you into Viridian City as quietly as possible. I know it isn't ideal for secrecy, but the Pokemon Centre is the only place that we were able to book rooms at."

"So how do we avoid the press?" Ash asked, frowning. He loved being a League Champion, but he absolutely hated the constant media coverage that seemed to follow him from town to town.

"There's a passageway nobody knows about that goes straight to the Pokemon Centre. We'll use that so you can get there without anybody noticing. Tomorrow we'll call a press conference for you, and that will hopefully be the end of it."

"Brilliant," Ash muttered. "More time to embarrass myself on camera." Noland laughed.

"Don't worry, we'll keep it brief," he chuckled. "And we'll make sure that they all understand that you aren't going to let yourself be followed by news crews anymore." He casually threw a Poke Ball into the air, causing a brilliant green light to shoot straight upwards. He caught the Ball and laughed as he saw them all shielding their eyes.

"That's just to let Anabel and Lucy know that I've found you," he explained.

"How did you do that?" Brock asked curiously. "I've never seen a Poke Ball let out a green light before." Noland just shrugged.

"You'd be surprised what Poke Balls can do," he said. "The technology behind them is incredible. How can such a small device hold something as large as a Gyarados or as heavy as a Snorlax without getting bigger and heavier? How come they can catch some living things like Pokemon, but not others like humans? How can a Poke Ball tell the difference between sending out a Pokemon to battle and sending out a Pokemon to be permanently released? How can they be transported over the Internet to another location with the Pokemon still inside?" His eyes gleamed.

"Technology is incredible if you just take a look beneath the surface. I'm examining Poke Balls now. I've even been in contact with Silph Co, although they actually don't know that much about Poke Ball technology themselves. They were amazed when I told them my discovery about the green light. Imagine inventing something and not knowing how it worked, or what it's capable of doing!"

"Scott really made the right decision when he made you the head of the Battle Factory," May laughed. Noland grinned.

"What can I say? The man knows what makes people happy. Oh, hi Lucy."

The Pike Queen stepped sedately out of the bushes, brushing a stray leaf off her tube top. She nodded to Noland and looked around the group. A very slight smile crossed her lips when she Rey, but she was distracted when Brock bounded forwards and clasped her hands as he bent on one knee.

"Lucy, the days since I last saw you have seemed as barren as the surface of the moon. I've waited day and night to be at your side once again!" Lucy looked down at him, small red patches on her cheeks. "My Queen," he began, "I-" He let out a high-pitched scream and collapsed, twitching.

Lucy stood rooted to the spot in surprise as the Pokemon that had just materialized behind Brock lowered it's arm, the purple palm fading back to the usual black. It looked at her and let out what sounded like a short chuckle before turning, grabbing Brock by the shirt, and dragging him into the bushes.

"Croa... croa... croa..." it muttered as it re-emerged from the undergrowth.

"Ummm, what was that all about?" Rey asked, feeling a little creeped out.

"I told you that his goal was to be the world's greatest breeder," Dawn said with a wicked gin. Rey's eyes widened as she realized what Dawn had meant earlier.

"So... he doesn't want to be a _Pokemon_ breeder?" she asked faintly.

"Oh, he wants to be that too," Dawn assured her. "He just wants to find a girlfriend first."

"And you feel safe around him?"

"Croagunk keeps him under control," Ash chuckled. "Besides, it's more of a personality quirk than anything else. Every time a girl has actually fallen for him, he realizes that she isn't the one for him."

"So he just goes around falling in love with every girl he meets, hoping to find the right one?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," May laughed. Rey looked as if she was about to be sick; noticing this, May hastened to reassure her.

"Don't worry," she said, "you get used to it pretty quickly."

"Get used to what?" Anabel asked as she came around a corner in the path.

"Brock," May answered, seeing Ash open his mouth to respond and feeling a twinge of jealousy.

"He is a little unusual," Anabel laughed. "But you're right, you do get used to him quickly. You know, I was always a little offended that he never fell for me like that."

"Well, that _is_ because we all thought you were a boy," Ash laughed. Anabel winced, although only May and Lucy noticed it.

"Yeah, no kidding," she muttered, looking down at the ground. Lucy quickly intervened.

"Are we ready, Noland?" she asked.

"We sure are," he grinned. "Dugtrio!" In a flash of red light, the ground-type appeared. "Dugtrio, we need you to dig us a way to that tunnel we found earlier."

"Trio!" the Dugtrio acknowledged. It dug downwards and was quickly lost to view.

"Wow, that Dugtrio's fast," Ash said admiringly.

"It's still a fairly new capture, so it needs some training," Noland said. "It's definitely fast, but the attacks just aren't strong enough yet."

"Here, you should try giving it some of my homemade Pokemon food," Brock said, reappearing suddenly in the midst of them and in perfect health. Everyone jumped at his appearance. "It's a recipe I started with my Onix and Geodude, and when my Mudkip evolved into Marshtomp I was able to perfect it. It's made specially for Ground-types."

Recovering quickly from his shock, Noland reached out and took a proffered piece. He popped it into his mouth and chewed gingerly for a few moments. He swallowed and beamed. "That stuff is fantastic!" he exclaimed. "Brock, I think that food would be perfect for my Dugtrio. How much do you want for a bag of it?"

"Take it, it's a gift," Brock said. "I don't make Pokemon food to make money; I do it because I know that the Pokemon enjoy it. I don't have any more of it on me, but as soon as we get to the Pokemon Centre I'll make a batch for you."

"Thanks, Brock," Noland said, clapping him on the back gratefully.

"Do you have any food for water-types?" Lucy asked, smiling at him. At the sound of her voice, Brock seemed to go into a dreamland.

"Croa... croa... croa..." Croagunk exhaled as she raised an arm, the palm glowing purple. Brock started and moved smartly out of the way, fishing in his bag for a sample of the water-type food to give to the Pika Queen. Anabel rolled her eyes as the Dugtrio came barrelling back up the tunnel.

"Trio!" it said proudly to Noland.

"Great job, Dugtrio," he said, looking at the ground-type fondly. "Lead the way for us now."

The Dugtrio moved down the tunnel, followed by Noland, Rey, Dawn, Anabel, Ash, Pikachu, May, Brock, a watchful Croagunk, and Lucy. The passageway sloped steeply downwards and they all had to move sideways to try and prevent themselves from falling over. Dawn stumbled and almost collided with Rey, but a watchful Anabel managed to steady her just in time.

"We're here," Noland called, what seemed like hours later. He jumped down from the tunnel that Dugtrio had made and looked back; Rey was peering nervously downwards, looking too scared to move. "It's easy," he said to her reassuringly. "Just crouch when you land."

"It's a ten foot drop," Rey said flatly. "There's no way that I'm jumping from something this high." Noland sighed and released his Venusaur.

"Use Vine Whip to help her down," he said.

"Saur," the Venusaur nodded, sending out a solitary vine which wrapped around Rey's waist. She gave a little squeal of shock as she felt herself lifted off of the ground.

"No, no I don't like this! Put me down, put me down!" she began to scream hysterically, struggling so hard against Venusaur that it was forced to send out another vine to secure her. The moment her flailing legs came into contact with the ground they buckled and she collapsed, shivering, her eyes wide and unseeing.

"Venusaur, help the rest of them down," Norman said as he hurried over to Rey in concern. Dawn looked at Rey curiously as she was lifted down with Anabel; the ride didn't seem that bad to her. She watched Noland speaking to Rey quietly as Ash, Pikachu, May, Brock, and Lucy were all lifted down.

"Where are we?" May asked. Dawn tore her gaze away from Noland and Rey and realized that they were in what seemed to be a large stone tunnel. The passageway was fairly wide, but the air seemed slightly dank. She reached out to touch a wall and found that it was damp with some kind of moss.

"This is a tunnel. It was built many years ago," Lucy said. Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Anabel decided to elaborate.

"It was built by the Kentou forces during the last of the Cyas Wars," she explained. "You all know about those, right?" The group looked at each other and shook their heads simultaneously. Anabel sighed.

"The Cyas Wars involved the armies of four regions," she said. "Kentou, Shannah, Gotou, and Whoeen. All four were fighting for one goal; not for land, or money, or slaves, but for a Pokemon so strong it was said to be the ultimate Pokemon. Few had ever seen it, and yet everyone was convinced of it's existence. It's name was Cyas. Every region wanted to be the one who possessed this powerful Pokemon. And so they all declared war on each other, under the impression that whoever won the war would be able to control Cyas.

"It was the bloodiest set of wars that the world had ever seen," she said, shaking her head. "There were three of them; each time one region was defeated one war ended and another began. The first region to be defeated was Whoeen. They were said to have the strongest army, but Kentou, Shannah, and Gotou signed a truce that would last until Whoeen was defeated. When that region fell the truce ended, and they turned on each other again.

"Shannah was the next region to fall, defeated violently by the Kentou forces. At the conclusion of the second war, though, Kentou had lost a considerable amount of it's army. Gotou seized it's chance and invaded the Kentou region. They had thousands more fighters than the Kentou army, and drove them back. Somehow, they managed to separate the Kentou forces into two separate bodies; one fled north to defend the home of their ruler, Cameron Castle. The other was forced south to Veredeen.

"In the battle to the north, the red Kentou forces did their best to hold Cameron Castle from the green Gotou army. Despite a moment of friendly-fire in which some of the red forces accidentally attacked one of their own who was clad in the blue-black tunic of Shannah, they managed to hold off Gotou. Still, the Kentou forces were about to fall when in the distance a magnificent light arose and spread over the battlefield; believing it to be the wrath of Cyas over their actions, both Kentou and Gotou dropped their weapons and walked away in peace.

"The light did not spread as far south as Veredeen however; here the Kentou army was badly outnumbered. To compensate they built tunnels for cover in a attempt at defeating the enemy through a hit-and-run tactic. The tunnel plans succeeded, and many Gotou lost their lives. Suffering from a heavy loss of life, and having just received word from the northern body of the mutual surrender, the Gotou forces retreated from Veredeen.

"The Cyas Wars ended with no victor, and Cyas itself was never seen. As time passed and language changed, most names were altered. Kentou was what is now Kanto; Gotou was Johto, Whoeen became Hoenn, and Shannah changed to Sinnoh. Having never been seen since the Wars, the legend of Cyas faded into obscurity. This tunnel was one of those built by the Kentou army. Professor Alden, a renowned archaeologist, discovered it a couple of years ago."

"Wow," May said. "I never knew that Hoenn used to be at war with Kanto. Does that mean that Ash and I are natural enemies?" Anabel couldn't help smiling.

"Only if you want to be," she chuckled. "The Cyas Wars were the last in our world's history, and they ended over 500 years ago. There's been peace ever since."

"Come on guys," Rey called, seemingly recovered from her fright. "Let's get going, this tunnel is giving me the creeps."

"Where does it go anyways?" Brock asked as they set off, with Noland in the lead.

"It actually goes into the basement of the Pokemon Centre," Noland said. "Just before Professor Alden was called in, Nurse Joy found out that the basement floor was sinking in one spot. She called in Flint from Pewter City to repair it, and that was when they discovered the tunnel underneath. At that point, Nurse Joy called in Professor Alden."

He stopped in what seemed to be just another stretch of tunnel and looked up, where a thin square of light filtered down. He turned to his Venusaur and nodded. The Venusaur reached up with another Vine Whip and knocked the square aside.

"Who's first?" Noland asked.

"I'll go," Brock volunteered, and he was quickly hoisted up by Venusaur.

"Rey?" Noland asked.

"Not me!" Rey yelped, backtracking into Ash.

"You have to go up sometime, Rey," Dawn pointed out. Rey's eyes were wide with fear again.

"I thought there'd be stairs, and I'd rather stay down here if there aren't any," she murmured, beginning to shake. Noland sighed and looked at his Venusaur.

"Use Sweet Scent," he said. Seconds later Rey relaxed and slumped against Ash, her eyes half-closed as her head lolled against his chest.

Ash was glad that the darkness shielded the glare from May that he could feel on his back. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when Venusaur lifted her up and Brock had dragged her from the vines into the basement. Ash volunteered to go next, and was surprised to see that Rey had already recovered from the calming scents.

At last they were all in the Pokemon Centre's basement; Noland recalled Venusaur and carefully pushed the floor square back in place. "Lead the way, Lucy," he said. The silent Frontier Brain nodded her head and lead the way up to the main floor.

She looked around for a moment, trying to find the hallway she wanted. She then quickly led them down one hallways, around a corner, through the emergency room which held a badly injured Meowth, down another hallway, and finally into the lobby.

Lucy stopped short in surprise at the scene before her. Curious about what was happening, they all filed out behind her and gaped.

An enraged Tyranitar stood by the counter, blood on it's arms and a discarded Poke Ball at it's feet. Nurse Joy stood in between it and it's trainer, trying to stop the massive Pokemon from attacking the young man.

"Tyranitar, please stop," she begged. The Tyranitar simply roared and tried to slash over her shoulder at the trainer, who dodged backwards.

"Cruz, stop!" he pleaded. The Tyranitar lunged again, forcing it's trainer back again; this time he hit the wall. He looked for a way out but realized that he was trapped. Visible hate shone out from the out-of-control Tyranitar's eyes as it knocked a desperate Nurse Joy across the room. She screamed in pain as she slammed against the wall and fell, motionless.

Ash reacted without thinking; in a flash, Sceptile had been called out and a devastating Leaf Blade connected with the back of the Tyranitar's head. Distracted, the larger Rock-type whirled and slammed a surprise Dynamic Punch into Sceptile's throat. The grass-type screeched as it flew backwards, barely managing to land on it's feet.

"Bullet Seed and then Leaf Blade again!" Ash roared.

Sceptile unleashed a barrage of glowing seeds as it began to run towards the Tyranitar; Growling viciously, the Tyranitar conjured up a Stone Edge; the series of small stones burst form under the floorboards and soared towards the Bullet Seed where it collided. Both attacks shattered on impact, unleashing clouds of dust. Through it Sceptile leaped, it's left arm blade elongated and glowing bright green. It connected with the Tyranitar's defensive Dynamic Punch; both Pokemon held their positions, glaring into each other's eyes.

The Tyranitar balled it's other fist and swung again; Sceptile countered by using Leaf Blade with the other arm. Again, both attacks collided and the Pokemon held their positions. Sparks began to fly from the first impact as both Pokemon had their energy drained from the fused attacks.

"Pound attack!" Ash shouted. Sceptile wrenched it's right arm free and twisted his body; the Dynamic Punch whistled past Sceptile's ear. The grass-type kept turning and felt his massive tail connect with Tyranitar's head. The rock-type crashed to the ground face first.

"Leaf Blade again!" Both arms began glowing again and Sceptile leaped into the air above Tyranitar. The rock-type turned, just in time to see two streaks of green lights slash over it's face. With one last final grunt of pain, the Tyranitar fell still. Sceptile landed awkwardly on all fours, just beyond the downed Tranitar.

"Sceptile!" Ash yelled, running over to the injured and exhausted grass-type. "Sceptile, are you okay?"

"Tile," Sceptile reassured him, reaching over to a nearby plant pot and snapping off a twig to place in it's mouth.

"Nurse Joy!" Brock shouted, running over to the slumped woman. She moaned slightly in her unconsciousness and her head dropped another inch. Croagunk burst from it's Poke Ball, ready to stab Brock with a Poison Jab; seeing the situation at hand, it halted the attack and jabbed at a Poke Ball on Brock's belt instead, recalling itself.

Dawn marched over to the Tyranitar's stunned trainer, glaring daggers at him.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" she shouted. "Can't you even control your Pokemon?"

"I don't know how it happened," the trainer protested. "I found a Meowth in the forest that had been hurt real bad. I caught it and asked Tyranitar to bring it here. It didn't want to, but it took it here anyways. As soon as I came in, it just started to attack me!"

"That still doesn't explain why you can't control your Pokemon!" Dawn yelled. "Just look at all of the damage it's done!" She gestured around the ruined reception area; the desk was broken in half, and the damaged computer was sparking menacingly. There were scorch marks on the walls, and the floor was ripped open, revealing dirt and rock from when the Tyranitar had used Stone Edge. There were even a few cracks in the wall from when Nurse Joy had been slammed into the wall.

"What kind of trainer are you?" she screamed, working herself into a real fury.

"Dawn, that's enough," Ash snapped. She stopped her tirade, surprised at the harshness of his tone. Then she glared at him and vented some of her fury out on him too.

"No, it's _not_ enough!" she burst out. "You don't even know what you're talking about, you've never had a Pokemon ignore you before! I have with Buizel, but I learned how to control it after a couple of days; this thing evolved into Tyranitar and it _still_ doesn't listen. The trainer doesn't have an excuse for-"

"The trainer has every excuse!" Ash retaliated angrily. "When a Pokemon evolves it's personality changes. It can go from respecting it's trainer to hating it's trainer in a matter of minutes! That isn't the trainer's fault."

"How would you know?" she yelled. "You've never been in that situation! You've never had a Pokemon hate you! If the Pokemon suddenly hates the trainer, then it must be because of what that trainer did to the Pokemon before it evolved."

"Charizard!" Ash yelled, throwing his Poke Ball. The fire-type roared as it appeared, looking for it's opponent. "Use Flamethrower on the hole in the floor!" Ash ordered. Charizard blinked in confusion but followed his directions without question.

"Now use Steel Wing on that plant to slice off a twig for Sceptile to use!" Ash told it. Again, Charizard was confused but he used the attack readily. "Good," Ash said. "Thank you, Charizard." He turned to Dawn.

"What does that have to-" Dawn began, but Ash interrupted her.

"I caught a Charmander that had been abandoned by it's original trainer. As time passed Charmander got stronger, and we became incredibly close. When my Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, it wouldn't do anything I asked," he said. "It got even worse when it evolved into Charizard. I treated it as well as I could, but for some reason it just suddenly hated me. I lost in the Indigo League because of it, and it even let Team Rocket kidnap Pikachu just because it was hungry!" Charizard looked uneasily down at the ground, scuffing it's feet. Dawn stood there with her mouth open, her face reddening in embarrasement.

"I know exactly what this trainer is going through because it's happened to me too," Ash continued. "It's happened three times in fact, and one of the other two was Pikachu!" He looked sideways at the Tyranitar's trainer. "The trainer can't be blamed if the Pokemon suddenly hates it; but the trainer does have to realize that it's their responsibility to get the Pokemon to trust them." The trainer took this as his cue. He stood up and proffered a hand to Ash.

"Good to see you again, Ash," he said. "I haven't seen you since we were both in the Whirl Islands."

"Hello, Ritchie," Ash said unsmilingly.

* * *

**So this chapter had a freaked-out Rey, Croagunk, a history lesson, Croagunk, Ritchie, and Croagunk. Not too bad for one chapter I guess. How many of you realized that the mystery trainer in Chapter 11 was Ritchie? And I wonder what Cyas is...**

**As ever, please review! I can tell from the stats that it's more than just the same four people reading this story, and the more reviews I get the better I can make my story!**


	20. Recapture

**I can't apologize enough for the delay with this chapter. I've been really busy with tests, schoolwork, and an assortment of miscellaneous projects that aren't connected to school. Considering the delay, this really should be a longer chapter (or at least a double upload), but this is all that I can put up for now. I hope that you enjoy it!**

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* * *

_

_400 years ago..._

The man stared at the cowering peasant that lay in front of him with his forehead touching the ground. Pure anger shone from his eyes as he looked disdainfully down. His guards on either side both shifted nervously as they felt his dark aura pulsing. It had not been long since their king came to power, but already the evil that corrupted his heart was beginning to lay claim over the castle courtyard.

"Rise," the king commanded, his voice filled with menace. Trembling, the peasant slowly stood, looking into his lord's eyes. Any hope of forgiveness was vanquished the moment that he stared into those soulless orbs. The king smashed the back of his hand against the peasant's face, his bejewelled fingers scoring deeply against the flesh. The peasant reeled momentarily but kept his position.

"Please, my Lord..." he whispered. "Please... I have done my best..."

"You have done nothing but fail," the king snapped. "Your time here is over. Guard!" The man on the left snapped to attention and saluted the king. "Take him to the Stark Pit!" the king commanded. The guard paled, but he saluted again and dragged the stunned peasant away.

The king swept around and walked back to his throne. Settling himself imperiously upon it, he glared majestically down at his court. Not one of them managed to suppress a shudder as his eyes swept over them. Seeing them flinch, the king grinned to himself. _As it should be_, he thought.

"What news of the war?" he asked casually.

"My Lord," one man said, stepping forwards. "I bring news from the north. Cameron Castle was successfully defended by the Kentou forces."

"Damn them!" the king gritted, smashing a fist onto his chair arm.

"The Gotou army and the Kentou forces both surrendered to each other. The word is that a Ho-Oh passed over the battle, spreading a light as it passed that prevented both armies from continuing the battle."

"_HO-OH_!" the king roared, leaping from his seat. He strode forwards, grabbing the hapless man by the neck of his tunic. "Are you sure that it was Ho-Oh?"

"My Lord, I can only report what others have t-"

"_Was it a Ho-Oh or wasn't it_?" the king shrieked.

"It was, my Lord," the man gasped. The king dropped the man and paced angrily across the room, muttering darkly to himself.

"Ho-Oh again. It always appears to destroy my plans, the moment when they are about to come to fruition. No, this is the last straw! I will not take this anymore!" He whirled and the court fell back as they felt his evil spirit seem to flow across them.

"I want Ho-Oh found and captured!" he ordered. "Bring it back here, and we shall see just how powerful it is. Ho-Oh will regret the day that it crossed the king of Pokelantis!"

* * *

_Present Day..._

Paul peered through the thick brush of Petalburg Forest, trying to spot a sign of his quarry.

"Come here Celebi," he hissed quietly as he spotted a shadow moving slowly along the forest floor. He smiled as he realized that there was no Pokemon on the ground; this could be either a flying-type... or a Celebi. Without taking his eyes off of the shadow, he reached down to his belt and drew out a ball.

"Paul, just what's the big idea?" James demanded as he came crashing through the underbrush. "I asked you if we could have a quick break five minutes ago and you said no, but now you're just sitting in the bushes!"

"Idiot!" Paul roared as he bolted towards the shadow.

"Wheee," the surprised Wheezing moaned as it turned to see the angry Paul charging right at it with James following close behind. The moment that he caught a glimpse of the Pokemon, Paul threw the ball in reflex. It smashed into the Wheezing, enveloping the poison-type in red light. The light shattered and the ball rolled away, coming to rest at Paul's feet.

Paul looked down at the Poke Ball, feeling simultaneously furious and relieved; furious that he had accidentally grabbed a regular Poke Ball instead of the Dark Ball, and relieved that he hadn't wasted his only Dark Ball on the Wheezing. He snorted as he stooped and picked up the Poke Ball, looking at the Wheezing in distaste.

"Only a Wheezing... what a waste," he muttered, turning away. "Come on, James."

"Sure," James said, following Paul slowly but looking over his shoulder at the Pokemon.

"Wheezing whee," the Pokemon called, floating after them. James stopped moving and Paul turned in frustration. He was stunned at what he saw. The Wheezing had approached James and actually appeared to be trying to hug him with it's gaseous body, tears streaming from its four eyes.

"I... I don't believe it," James whispered.

"James, move it," Paul repeated impatiently, but the blue-haired trainer didn't seem to hear. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Paul walked over the grabbed James by the arm. "Leave it. You saw what happened, my Poke Ball bounced right off. It belongs to someone else and can't be captured. My father may be the head of Team Rocket, but I don't steal other people's Pokemon. Now let's go, we have a Celebi to catch."

"But," James began. Paul's temper snapped.

"But nothing!" he roared, spraying James with flecks of spit. "_It can't be captured_. You want to see the Poke Ball fail again? Watch!" He snatched a random Poke Ball from James's belt and threw it hard at the Wheezing. The ball made contact and a red glow spread over the poison-type. The Wheezing was called inside and the ball bounced back to James. Paul stood rooted.

"What just happened?" he asked quietly.

"Wheezing," James whispered, his eyes shining. "Wheezing, it _is_ you!"

* * *

"Oish! Ready for the conference, Ash?" Greta asked with a grin. 

"No," Ash replied, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, don't let Tucker hear that! He'll try to answer every question himself," Greta laughed.

"I wouldn't mind that," Ash muttered.

"Oh, I doubt that very much," Cynthia said calmly, striding towards them.

"Cynthia!" Ash yelped in surprise.

"Good to see you, too," Cynthia grinned. "Now look, I know that you really don't want to do this interview, but the press won't leave you alone until you do it. At least here the Frontier Brains and I will be able to do it with you."

"She's right, oish!" Greta agreed. "Now come on, the press is waiting."

"Where are the other Brains?" Ash asked.

"They're already in the conference room," Cynthia answered. "All of your travelling companions are with the public, behind the press."

"I guess we should go then, huh?" Ash asked, looking at Pikachu who was perched on his shoulder as usual.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, nodding his head.

Cynthia smiled at the pair and then moved to the side to let Greta through. The Champion followed the Arena Tycoon, and Ash fell in step behind them. He blinked as dozens of bright lights suddenly flashed in front of him, and the accompanying clamour of voices each trying to make themselves heard made his ears hurt. He turned his head away slightly and followed Cynthia to his chair. He sat down with Cynthia on his left, and he looked to see Anabel on his right.

"Good to see you again, Ash," Anabel smiled, patting his arm. "I heard about that battle in the Pok-"

She was interrupted by a relative flurry of flashes; Ash groaned inwardly as he saw the reporters in the very front row pushing forwards, taking seemingly endless amounts of pictures, and all trying to make their question the one that was heard. Just behind them Ash saw the second row of reporters shaking their heads disapprovingly at the ones in front. "Paparazzi, lowest of the low," Ash lip-read one of them muttering as they looked down at their notes.

"Ketchum! What is your relationship with Salon Maiden Anabel?" one of the paparazzi yelled.

"Mr. Ketchum, how long has this been going on?" another shouted.

"Mr Ketchum! Mr. Ketchum!" more clamoured. Ash sat there dumbfounded, Anabel clearly embarrassed, neither of them knowing what to do or say until...

"CHUUU!" Pikachu roared, a massive burst of electricity erupting skywards, where it hit the roof and dissipated. The paparazzi were silenced immediately.

"Yes, well," Brandon coughed, leaning into his microphone. "This conference has been called to deal with any and all questions that the press has regarding the events of the battle that was interrupted, and only this event." He glared at the paparazzi and even the most defiant were cowed, although several still wrote quickly in their notebooks.

"Ash and Cynthia will answer any questions that you direct towards them, as shall the Frontier Brains. At the conclusion of this conference, neither Ash, Cynthia, nor any other involved party expects to be questioned about the matter any further. Now, without further ado, I would like to call forwards our moderator, for lack of a better term. Dome Ace Tucker, if you please?"

"Thank you, Brandon," Tucker grinned as he leapt forwards. He paused for emphasis and the audience leaned in expectantly. "Any questions?" he asked and the audience sagged with disappointment, having expected him to make some sort of shocking and sweeping statement.

"Mr. Ketchum, we all saw your first few Pokemon choices; what others had you selected for the battle?" one woman asked, taking advantage of the lull.

"That's not something I can answer," Ash said. "I'm sure you can understand, since my opponent is sitting next to me. When we schedule a rematch, you'll see what they were."

"Do you plan on using the same Pokemon?" a man asked.

"That depends on how we do the battle," Ash answered. "If it's a fresh start then probably not. If we just go from where we left off when we were interrupted, then yes I'll use the same Pokemon."

"Cynthia, same question?" the man asked.

"My answer is the same as Ash's," Cynthia responded.

"What's your opinion on how you were faring in the battle?" a woman asked Cynthia, who shrugged.

"Every battle creates different situations," she said evasively. "Ash certainly had the upper hand at one point, but several of his Pokemon had been badly hurt. I don't want to sound vain, but it probably wouldn't have taken much effort from a fresh Pokemon to knock each of those out to even the battle score."

"Ash, what will happen to the Battle Colosseum?" another woman asked.

"As a Frontier Brain, I really hope that it'll be rebuilt," Ash answered. "I'd like it if the rematch could be held there too, but that all depends on how quickly it gets rebuilt."

"What are you going to do in the meantime?" a newspaper reporter asked.

"I'll be training with my Pokemon in the field," Ash answered.

"Where?" one paparazzi demanded. Ash eyed him.

"Anywhere that isn't close to a member of the paparazzi," he said coldly. Several newspaper and television reporters laughed appreciatively.

"What's your relationship with Anabel?" the paparazzi pressed.

"This is not relevant to the conference," Lucy interjected.

"It's relevant if I say it is," the paparazzi snapped insolently. "Well?" he demanded aggressively. Without bothering to respond, Ash lightly threw two Poke Balls into the air. In twin bursts of light, Gallade appeared alongside a tall simian that was wreathed in flames and appeared to be dressed in war paint; Infernape. Without waiting for a command from Ash, they both headed towards the paparazzi member, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged the struggling busybody from the tent.

"Any more questions?" Ash asked calmly.

* * *

Paul gritted his teeth and threw his Poketch to the ground in fury. 

"That... pompous... arrogant... son of a..." he ranted. James watched in surprise.

Moments ago, Paul had gotten a call from his father (James had ducked out of the video screen's sight as a precaution). Paul had spoken briefly and then tuned in to a wireless TV channel that was broadcasting the twerp's press conference, live. Watching it, James thought that the twerp had handled himself maturely; apparently Paul thought differently.

"What's the big deal about the twerp?" James asked. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Because he's WEAK!" Paul shouted angrily. "Someone like him should never have gotten where he is today! I beat him every time we ever battled! Every time! And then he manages to beat me _once_, and the press are all over him and he's hailed as some sort of 'master'." He roared and smashed his fist into a nearby tree angrily. Dislodged by the impact, a light green stone fell from the branches and landed at his feet.

"What's that?" James asked curiously as he looked at the stone, noticing that it was a perfect rectangle.

"I- I don't know," Paul answered as he stared down at it. The stone was fairly large, about two feet long and over an inch thick. He reached down and picked it up, wiping off some moss that had grown over the surface. "The rightful bearer of a Plate draws from the Plate it holds," he read aloud. He snorted and dropped it, trudging off again.

"Come on, James," he said. "We've still got a Celebi to find and catch." James hesitated for a moment before picking up the plate. He was surprised at how light it was considering it's size. He tucked it under his shirt and ran off after Paul.

* * *

**As ever, please review! It really does help me to improve the story, and fresh feedback is always nice. And if there are any Chobits fans reading this, I've just begun writing a new fanfiction, called "The Syndicate". Chapter One has been uploaded on this site, and you can find it through the search box or my profile. I'll try to update both stories a lot more quickly than I have been this last month or so.**


	21. Beginning

**You know, it's absolutely amazing what an increased number of reviews can do to boost your desire to write. That's part of the reason I always ask for people to review. It's more than just feedback, it's a boost in general to know that people are enjoying what you are writing, and it helps motivate you to write more. There were nine reviews for the last chapter; I hope that you guys can keep it at that level. Now, to answer some comments/questions...**

Lord Vurtax**, it's true that _May's Crush_ was a faster pace than this story in terms of chapters, but there are a couple of things to consider. PikamasterADV's chapters were, in general, longer on average than my chapters are. Also, his story only really had one plot running through it, while mine has three or four subplots revolving around a central plot. Lengthwise, I think a more fair comparison is to _May's Crush: Final Frontier_, which has several subplots and is already longer than _May's Crush_, with no end in sight (assuming that he updates again). And don't worry,** BlackWhole I** haven't forgotten about what happened between May and Drew in Johto. You'll learn more about that (relatively) soon.**

**Now, with that out of the way it's time for Chapter Twenty-One. This one has lots of action in it (and a couple of surprises too), so I hope that you enjoy what I've got for you!**

* * *

His eyes snapped open. They roved around the room, taking in the clean stainless steel surfaces and the comfy beds of varying sizes. He sniffed the air in trepidation and scented disinfectant. _A Pokemon Centre_, he realized. 

He sat up and swooned almost immediately as waves of dizziness and nausea crashed through his brain. "Ouch," he moaned as ripples of pain shot through his body.

"So, you're finally awake," he heard a voice say. He turned and saw who had spoken; a trainer dressed in the most ludicrous green outfit that he had ever seen.

"How long have I been out?" he asked the trainer. The trainer jerked back in surprise.

"You can talk! Wow, I can't believe it, a talking Meowth!"

Meowth glared at the trainer. "Hey! Maybe I kin talk, but dat don't mean I like bein' ignored! Who are you, and how'd I get here?"

"My name's Ritchie," the trainer answered. "I was walking through Viridian Forest when I found you. You were out cold and really badly hurt. You were alone, so I thought maybe a Fearow had attacked you or something and your pack had abandoned you. The only way I could get you here on time was by capturing you." Meowth's eyes widened in horror.

"You... you _caught_ me?" he asked faintly. Ritchie nodded.

"Yeah, and my Tyranitar brought you here."

"No way, nuh-uh, I ain't no Pokee-ball Pokemon!" Meowth snapped. "You gotta let me go!"

"Let you go?" Ritchie asked, completely taken aback. "Why would I do that? You could be a great member of my team; maybe you'll even evolve into a Persian!"

"_I ain't ever evolvin'_," Meowth shrieked. He broke down into tears. "What'll Jessie n' James do widout me? I can't be a Pokee-ball Pokemon, I can't!"

"Jessie and James?" Ritchie said slowly, screwing up his face in concentration. "Wait, I remember some people with those names. They were from Team Rocket and tried to capture a Lugia. And..." his voice trailed off and he looked at Meowth with a hard expression. "And they had a talking Meowth," he finished.

"Dat would be me," Meowth glared back. "We didn' even want dat Lugia, we just didn' want Cassidy n' Botch ta steal it foist."

"Well that settles it," Ritchie declared. "There's no way that I'm going to release you. Not until I teach you how to be good, anyways."

"Dat's inhuman!" Meowth shouted angrily.

"Good thing you're a Pokemon, then," Ritchie said bluntly. He raised a Poke Ball.

"Don't you dare," Meowth warned.

"Meowth, return!" Ritchie commanded, pressing the button in the centre. A red beam of light shot out from the ball and collided with Meowth. He screamed as the paralysing effects of the beam enveloped him and he was drawn back into the Poke Ball.

Ritchie lowered his arm and stared at the Poke Ball clasped in his hand. He felt sick inside, and his heart was pounding. He delicately lowered himself into a nearby chair, never once taking his eyes off of Meowth's ball. _What have I done_? he wondered._ Is... is this why Cruz refuses to listen to me, why it attacks me? What right do I have to keep a creature captive if it wants to be free_?

He shuddered, but placed the Poke Ball on his belt. Even though Meowth clearly didn't want to be a part of his team, he would work with the Pokemon until he came to accept Ritchie as his trainer. He knew that all of those years in Team Rocket must have corrupted the Pokemon somehow, but he felt confident that he could reach the good in it's heart. He'd start in Pewter City.

* * *

Ash stepped outside of the conference building and took several deep breaths. He felt distinctly glad that he'd asked Gallade and Infernape to remove anybody who was causing a problem at the conference, but he felt a little ashamed too. Did he really have to resort to using his Pokemon as bodyguards? 

"Ash?" he heard someone ask. He turned and saw Anabel standing at the doorway uncertainly.

"Oh, hey Anabel," he said. "Man, those paparazzi really get annoying, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Anabel said, shaking her head ruefully. "It didn't stop when the conference ended either. All of the paparazzi surrounded me the second that you left and started asking me the most ridiculous questions you can answer." Ash shook his head in disgust.

"I guess some people have nothing better to do than spin lies about other people's lives," he said bitterly. "All my life I've wanted to be a Pokemon Master. I've caught, trained, and become friends with my Pokemon, all just to follow my dream." He gestured back in the direction of the conference room. "My dream never involved _that_."

"There are always a few hurdles in our paths," Anabel said. "Being a Frontier Brain doesn't get you as much publicity as a League Champion, or even a Gym Leader if you consider Juan, but there's enough of it to make your life stressful. We all handle it in different ways. Tucker can't get enough of the media attention, that's why he asked Scott to build the Battle Dome in a city. But on the other hand there's me, and I just can't stand the publicity. That's why I built the Battle Tower as far into the wilderness as you can get."

"You prefer the wild to civilization?" Ash asked mischievously. Anabel smiled impishly.

"Maybe, but I'm not a total outcast! I just prefer the quiet of the forest."

"I hear that," Ash said quietly. He looked around at the sight of Viridian City in distaste. The air seemed to cling to the skin and felt gritty, not fresh. Several pieces of litter dotted the area; as he watched, a passing teenager threw a half-empty water bottle carelessly at a garbage can. It clanged off the side and rolled to a halt at Ash's feet. He watched as the clear liquid seeped out onto the pavement and turned a deep shade of brown as it collected all of the grime stuck to the street.

"Give me a forest or a field any day," he muttered.

"Now that you've spoken to the press, where are you planning on going?" Anabel asked.

"Vermillion City, I think," Ash said. "Brock's brother, Forrest, is there training at the moment, and I think that Rey wants to have a practice battle with him. After that we can catch a Vermillion ferry to Canalave City in Sinnoh. How about you?"

"Oh, I was just going to head home to the Battle Tower," Anabel said softly. Ash looked at her curiously. She seemed almost disappointed about something, but he couldn't think why. "You know," Anabel began, "Tohjo Falls actually runs north to the ocean. There's a little port town up there that almost nobody has heard of, and it's a quick ferry ride from there to Canalave. It'll probably save you quite a bit of time since you won't have to circle Kanto, and it's really untamed wilderness up there with lots of strong wild Pokemon."

"Thanks Anabel," Ash said, "but I think I'm still going to go to Vermillion City."

Anabel looked at him, crestfallen. Her heart pounded, but she didn't know what else she could say to try and change his mind. She would never admit it out loud but she really did care about Ash, in a deeper way than mere friendship. She knew that several people including Brandon (and probably half the planet now that the paparazzi had gotten involved) had guessed her feelings, but she did her best to keep them under wraps.

Ash looked at her carefully. Although she had never said anything, he had long ago guessed her true feelings. He knew that she couldn't help it, and inwardly he admired her ability to hide how she felt. Of all the Frontier Brains, Anabel was the one he felt closest to. And maybe, in an alternate timeline, he'd have felt something more for her than he did, but...

But he loved May. It had taken him several years to realize it, but now that he had he couldn't stop thinking about her. He wanted to be with her, not Anabel. He knew that it would destroy Anabel if he openly mentioned this to her, so he had tried to keep some distance between them recently.

_Too much distance_, he realized. _I haven't spent any time with Anabel for a couple of months. I could blame that on all of the training, but it's no excuse to shun her. Heck, I've been with Scott more often than Anabel, and he's been in Johto for two months now_. He looked down at the ground uncomfortably. Anabel spent a lot of time at the Battle Tower, but the Battle Frontier didn't exactly get a lot of challengers despite it's prestige. Most trainers were too obsessed with the more famous regional leagues to spend any time challenging other championships. _She must get really lonely out there_, he realized, and he felt even more ashamed.

He knew that Anabel considered him one of her closest friends, more so than any of the other Frontier Brains. He also knew that it was probably all down to an age difference, since the other five Frontier Brains were all at least ten years older than Anabel. _It's more than that_, he thought. _I don't have any issues connecting with the other Brains, but Anabel does_. He sighed. It was all down to personality; where he was outgoing, she was introverted. She couldn't connect to the others because she was just too shy with the age difference.

_She doesn't have many friends, and one of the only ones that she does has been shunning her. I feel so angry with myself because of that. Keeping a safe distance is one thing, but ignoring altogether..._ He looked up at Anabel. She was staring at a fixed point in the distance unblinkingly. Ash felt sure that she was holding back tears. _It would make her so happy if we just spent one night at the Battle Tower_, he thought. _I can't deny her that_.

"Tell you what," he said, breaking the long silence. "I'm still going to go to Vermillion City, for Brock's and Rey's sake. Plus, there's a friend there that I want to check in on too. But I promise this; once we're done in Vermillion City, we'll come back and go to Tohjo Falls. I just can't resist the chance to see all of those wild Pokemon." Anabel looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" she asked.

"I can't miss the chance to spend some more time with one of my friends, can I?" Ash grinned. Anabel smiled, and Ash realized just how long it had been since he had seen her so happy. Inside, he still felt horrible about his recent treatment to her, but he was glad that he still had the chance to mend any damage he had done.

* * *

"At last!" Paul shouted triumphantly, bursting from the shrubbery. The Celebi whirled in surprise. It eyed the lavender-haired trainer in puzzlement. Then it's eyes fell on the black sphere in the trainer's hands; they widened. That ball was all too familiar to Celebi. It turned and made to escape, but Paul was ready. 

"Mismagius, Mean Look!" he shouted. The Mismagius emerged from the shadows; Celebi was flying straight for it and had no chance to avoid looking in it's eyes. Twin pupiled purple orbs floated through the air from the Mismagius and sank into Celebi's eyes. The legendary Pokemon desperately tried to teleport away, but to no avail.

"Dark Ball! Go!" Paul barked, throwing the ball at the Celebi. Celebi screamed as the ball made contact and it was sucked inside by a navy light; the ball rolled once and then clicked. Paul then did something very rare for him. He laughed. From the nearby bushes, James shuddered at the sound. He had never heard a laugh sound so cold-hearted and evil before. Still, he had to admit; Paul's strategy of sending out Mismagius ahead of time in anticipation of Celebi trying to escape had worked wonders.

"James!" Paul barked, halting his laughter abruptly.

"Yes?" James asked nervously, moving into the open. Paul's eyes bored into him coldly.

"We're finished here," he said. "It's time to go back to Rocket Headquarters." James paled.

"Will... will the boss let me live?" he asked hesitantly.

"Who knows," Paul said, shrugging uncaringly. "That's for him to decide. I'll put in a word for you, but to be honest, a couple of days work doesn't exactly make up for ten years of incompet-." He paused as his Poketch vibrated in his pocket. Grimacing in annoyance, he fished it out and punched in a few buttons.

"Text message," he muttered as he read the screen. His eyes narrowed and he stuffed the Poketch back into his pocket, along with the Dark Ball. "Right, change of plan," he said, stretching his legs. "We've got a stop to make on the way back."

"Where?" James asked.

"Azalea Town," Paul answered. He set off at a run through the forest. Sighing, James shifted the plate under his shirt so that it rested more comfortably against his stomach, and then followed Paul into the undergrowth.

* * *

"So you're telling me that instead of travelling on a luxury cruise ship, we have to struggle through a heck of a lot of untamed wilderness, fighting off all of these wild Pokemon?" May asked, her arms crossed and her foot tapping the ground as she leaned against a wall. 

"Uh.. yeah, that's pretty much it," Ash said from his bed with a nervous grin.

"And why exactly do we want to do that?" she asked. Ash sighed and looked around the Pokemon Centre bedroom where Brock, May, Rey, and himself were staying, trying to come up with an answer.

"It's been a long time since I was in the field; and I mean actually out training where there aren't many people. I'm tired of being stuck near cities and being mobbed by the press and hundreds of fans. It won't be any different on the boat than it is here in Viridian."

"At least on the boat you have a shower and a bed," May pointed out. "Besides, what's wrong with training in the forest on the way to Vermillion?"

"It's still too close to the city," Ash said. He paused and tried to think of the best way to word how he was feeling. "It's not... it's not _pure_ enough," he finished.

"Pure enough?" May asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Vermillion's only a day or two away from Viridian. The route's pretty busy, and you're never far away from all of the city grime, even if you take Diglett's Cave. I want to feel a clean breeze. I want to walk through forests, not parks. I want to see clear streams, not sewer lines." His voice had a pleading note in it, and May sighed relentingly.

"Okay then, Ash, it's fine by me if we go north through Tohjo Falls." Then she smiled. "I can understand how you feel. I love the city, but after spending so much time travelling I just get urges to spend some time away from the cities too."

"Thanks, May," Ash smiled back, giving her a quick hug. There was a shattering sound and Ash and May leapt back, their faces both scarlet. Dawn looked back at them, a broken glass of juice at her feet.

"Oops," she said, beginning to blush. "Umm, sorry... I think I'll just go over here now," she indicated, pointing in the direction of the lobby. Ash groaned and held his head, collapsing back to his bed.

"Brilliant," he muttered. May giggled, and he turned to look at her in exasperation. "What?" he asked.

"Your face,' she grinned. "You look so embarrassed!"

"I'm not surprised," he muttered. "Now Dawn's going to think that there's something going on between us."

"Maybe there is," May said without thinking. A full ten seconds of silence passed in which Ash and May just looked at each other. As she realized what she had said, May's cheeks began to resemble the shade of ripe tomatoes. She felt sure that somebody could have toasted bread on them if they wanted to at that moment.

"Do you... do you really mean that, May?" Ash asked quietly.

"Well... yeah. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't, Ash," she responded.

"Wow, this is kinda awkward now, huh?" he said after another brief silence. May knelt down next to him and looked him in the eyes.

"Only if you make it that way," she said quietly.

Ash gazed into her eyes, losing himself in the deep sapphire pools that radiated light, joy, compassion, and love. He didn't know how it started, or who began it, but when he regained some semblance of organized thought he realized that he and May were locked together in a tight embrace with their eyes closed, their lips glued together, and their tongues on fire.

* * *

**As always, please review! **


	22. Loyalty

**It's kind of strange, really. I had a huge layout for this chapter, and I planned on making it one of the longest that I've written. But when I got about a quarter of the way in that I had planned, I just stopped. I could just sense that if I took it any further, it would actually decrease the value of this chapter. And I think I was right to do that, otherwise this chapter would have had too much in it. Ah well, at least there's Chapter Twenty-Three, which should hopefully be uploaded soon. Now for the comments...**

**_BlackWhole:_ I hope that this update came fast enough for you (even though there are no shippy moments in it); _The Dark Fiddler_: I'm really glad to know that you'd like to see this animated, and I give permission for you to do so if you like. **

**I hope that you all enjoy this update!**

* * *

Jessie grimaced as she stretched, and her back twinged painfully. It always hurt to be blasted off, but the effects from landing had never gone on for this long before. She leaned heavily on a tree for a moment, waiting for the pain to abate. 

"Where are James and Meowth?" she muttered. "I've been looking for them for days, but I haven't seen any sign of them at all. And Wobbuffet's still missing too..." She sighed and slumped to the ground, suddenly overwhelmed by a huge sense of loneliness. She felt her eyes begin to prickle, and she struggled to hold in the tears that threatened to break out.

She had the bushes in front of her rustle; she raised her head hopefully and found herself staring into the cold, merciless eyes of Cassidy.

* * *

Ritchie trudged through Viridian Forest slowly, staring at the Poke Ball in his hand that contained Meowth. He sighed and threw the Poke Ball upwards, releasing Meowth in a beam of red light. 

"It's about time ya let me outta 'dere, twoip," Meowth grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight," Ritchie said, frowning down at the Pokemon. "I caught you and got you healed. I'm not 'twerp' to you, okay? I'm your trainer, and you'd better show me the respect that I deserve."

"I tink I'm bein' very generous on respect at da moment, considering my predicament," Meowth sniffed. "I got blasted off by a Rayquaza, smashed into a tree, and den captured by some twoip who don't seem to realize that Pokemon have feelings too."

"You were hit by the Rayquaza's Hyper Beam?" Ritchie asked in amazement, remembering when he'd seen the attack on the TV. Meowth's eyes teared up as he relived that frightening moment.

* * *

_"The twerp's doing really well against Cynthia," James said, watching as Ash and Cynthia both took to the battlefield as the intermission concluded, and completely unaware of the small girl nearby trying to buy a chocolate bar from him. _

_"I'm not that surprised, considering how many times he's had us to practice on," Jessie said, serving the little girl with a kind smile on her face. Then she turned and smacked James in the back of the head. "We're working so that we can pay back the boss all of the money that we've borrowed in the last ten years," she snarled. "We're here to sell refreshments, not watch a battle!"_

_"Right," James said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey Meowth, how much longer do we have to work until we can pay the boss back in full?"_

_"Coupla months if we keep dis up," Meowth answered. "It'll be a nice surprise for da boss to get all o' dat money back in one go. Maybe he'll even reward us!"_

_"We're at the bottom of the boss' list," Jessie snorted, handing over a soda to an immensely fat man dressed in a flowery blue shirt. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't lynch us when he sees how much we've owed him all of this time."_

_"Better get out dose umbrellas, Jim," Meowth said as he felt a drop of rain splatter onto his nose. "We don't want all dat popcorn gettin' soggy."_

_"Roger that," James said, pulling a small pink and green parasol from his belt that covered the popcorn perfectly. Jessie frowned as the slight drizzle suddenly halted._

_"That's weird. Maybe just a sun shower?" she asked as James took the parasol off again._

_"Nope, definitely rain!" he responded, hastening to put the parasol back on as the downpour restarted. It stopped again._

_"What da heck's goin' on?" Meowth asked, looking quizzically into the sky. Someone nearby screamed, jumping up and pointing towards the far end of Colosseum. A massive yellow beam shot through the sky at a speed that made the air sizzle. Pandemonium erupted, and as the spectators all tried to escape the Colosseum Meowth was knocked through a railing to the level below._

_"Meowth!" James shouted, dropping his refreshments and struggling to lower himself down to his friend, Jessie right behind._

_"Augh! It's a Rayquaza!" Meowth screamed as the green dragon began to circle the battlefield, firing off a deluge of Hyper Beams._

_"I've got you, Meowth!" James shouted as he reached his comrade._

_"For a cat, you really don't have much in the way of a sense of balance," Jessie said, shaking her head in relief that her friend was okay._

_"Look out!" Meowth screamed to Jessie and James as a Hyper Beam was fired in their direction. They managed a half-turn before it connected with them. There was a dazzling light, a blinding blast of pain, and then nothing._

* * *

"Next ting I know, I'm lyin' in a Pokemon Centre wid no friends in sight, and some twoip's tellin' me that I belong to him," Meowth growled. "So excuse me if it don't seem like I'm treatin' you wid any respect!" Ritchie opened his mouth to respond, but a nearby scream broke out first. 

"What was that?" he wondered aloud.

"Dat sounded like Jessie!" Meowth said, his fur turning even paler than normal. Without waiting for Ritchie, he ran off in the direction of the sound. Ritchie hesitated for a moment and then followed the Pokemon.

They burst through the bushes at the same time and skidded to a halt, stunned at what they saw. Jessie stood against the tree, shuddering in pain, one arm lacerated deeply. Her Seviper and Skorupi stood in front, desperately trying to protect their trainer from an attacking Houndoom.

"Seviper, Poison Tail! Skorupi, Knock Off!" Jessie shouted. Her Seviper lashed it's glowing tail out at the Houndoom, while the small Skorupi scuttled in close, it's tail raised and gleaming black.

"Fire Spin, Houndoom!" a trainer commanded. Ritchie turned to see a golden-haired woman standing a little way behind the Houndoom. "I hope you enjoy your last moments of life, Jessie," she taunted. Ritchie felt frozen. This woman wasn't battling Jessie; she was trying to kill her.

"Skorupi!" Jessie screamed as the poison-type rolled backwards, burned and completely out of the battle. She knelt by the little Pokemon, holding it tenderly. "You tried your best," she whispered. "Thank you. Seviper, you're all I have left. Use Poison Fang!" Seviper slithered in swiftly towards the Houndoom, fangs extended and gleaming purple.

"Faint Attack," the blonde woman ordered. The Houndoom turned and vanished as Seviper launched itself at the fire-type. Seviper crashed into the ground head-first as the Houndoom reappeared behind it. It jumped towards the dazed poison-type and slashed at it with it's claws. Seviper screamed as it was lifted into the air and thrown into a tree.

"Seviper! No!" Jessie screamed.

"Sehhh," it hissed, struggling to get upright. It collapsed. Jessie quivered as the woman strode forwards and grabbed her by the injured arm. Jessie yelped as she was forced to stand.

"What do you want from me? Why are you attacking me, Cassidy?" she asked helplessly.

"I want you dead," Cassidy growled back. "If I don't kill you, I'll be the one who's killed. And I love life too much to let that happen." Jessie stared into the eyes of her nemesis. Her look grew hard and she spat at Cassidy defiantly.

"Go on then," she taunted, "give it your best shot!"

"Raticate," Cassidy called, sending out the normal-type. "Use Super Fang on her neck."

"Rah?" the Raticate asked in surprise.

"Do it," she hissed, "like I told you earlier."

"Raticate cate," her Raticate refused, shaking it's head from side to side.

"Now!" Cassidy roared. With a look of apology at Jessie the Raticate lunged forwards, mouth opened and the sharp fangs gleaming. Jessie let out a scream and Meowth rushed in towards the leaping Raticate, claws unsheathed.

"Rahhhh," the Raticate screamed as the Fury Swipes connected devastatingly with it's flanks.

"Meowth!" Jessie shouted in surprise.

"Perfect, two for one," Cassidy smirked. Then she turned back to the bushes. "Anytime you want to help me out, Butch," she called. Muttering darkly to himself, her comrade emerged from the bushes. "Houndoom, use Flamethrower on Meowth!" Cassidy commanded. Meowth stood frozen in the face of the powerful attack.

"Sparky, Thunderbolt that Flamethrower away!" Ritchie shouted, throwing his Poke Ball automatically.

"Chaa!" the Pikachu cried, unleashing a quick Thunderbolt that barely managed to deflect the Houndoom's Flamethrower.

"What?" Cassidy whirled in disbelief at Ritchie▒s appearance.

"I've got the kid," Butch said, stepping in hurriedly, "you take care of those two. Go, Mightyena!" Sparky cringed as the large wolf-like animal materialized, snarling viciously.

"Thunderbolt!" Ritchie ordered.

"Shadow Ball!" Butch countered. Sparky unleashed a series of electrical attacks at the Mightyena. It held it's ground and shot a massive dark ball of energy at the Pikachu. The Shadow Ball crashed into the Thunderbolt and broke through the attack easily, dissipating the electricity on either side. Ritchie gasped in horror as it smashed directly into his Pokemon, knocking it into his arms.

"Sparky," Ritchie whispered, stunned that it had been taken out in only one hit. "Rose, let's go!" he shouted, sending out a Swellow. "Use Wing Attack!"

"Stand your ground!" Butch shouted. The Swellow dove down, wings glowing; they smashed into the Mightyena, knocking it back several steps. Butch smiled ferally. "Payback!" he ordered. With a snarl, the Mightyena lunged forwards, colliding with a surprised Swellow and knocking it to the ground.

"Rose, no!" Ritchie shouted as the Mightyena began clawing viciously at the flying-type. "Return," he called in desperation, unable to bear the sight of the attack anymore. "So that's what Payback looks like," he muttered.

"Payback is a fantastic move," Butch grinned. "It's perfect for a dark-type. It hit's the opponent with twice the usual power if it's already been attacked."

"Payback this!" Ritchie shouted. "Go, Zippo!" In the burst of red light, a massive Charizard appeared, glaring down at Butch and the Mightyena. Butch's grin vanished.

"Flamethrower!" Ritchie ordered, and the Charizard unleashed a barrage of sizzling flames.

"Payback!" Butch shouted. The Mightyena took the attack with difficulty and then sprang at the Charizard, it's eyes glowing viciously.

"Oh no you don't," Ritchie snapped. "Zippo, use Iron Tail!" The Charizard whirled, it's entire tail glowing white save for the flames. It smashed into the Mightyena in mid-air and the Pokemon was sent flying backwards, screaming in pain.

"Return, Mightyena. Cloyster! Go!" Butch shouted. "Use Withdraw, Hydro Pump, and Explosion!"

"Zippo fly in close and use Dragon Claw!" Ritchie ordered.

"Now Cloyster!" Butch called as the Charizard came in close. The Cloyster exploded, sending a powerful burst of frothing water in every direction. The Charizard had no chance.

"Zippo," Ritchie whispered as he recalled his defeated starter. He looked helplessly around the clearing. Butch was recalling his Cloyster, and Meowth and Jessie were cornered against a tree. They were being attacked by the Houndoom and Raticate, as well as a Sableye. There was nothing he could do, nothing except...

It was a slim chance, but it was a chance that he had to take.

"Cruz, I choose you!" he shouted. The Tyranitar emerged in a burst of light, eyed the attack on the Jessie and Meowth with minimal interest, and looked down at the trainer disdainfully.

"Cruz, use Stone Edge!" Ritchie ordered. The Tyranitar yawned and turned away. Ritchie looked up at the Pokemon helplessly and sagged. It was over.

"Houndoom, Bite!" he heard Cassidy order. He turned and saw the Pokemon lunging for Jessie's vulnerable throat. Without thinking, he ran towards the Pokemon and jumped, smashing into it with his shoulder and knocking it away. Reflexively, the Houndoom twisted it's neck and bit deep into Ritchie's shoulder. He screamed in pain as he felt his skin rip and warm blood begin to seep into his clothing. The Houndoom swung around and released Ritchie, sending him crashing to the ground.

Ritchie coughed hoarsely and watched helplessly as the Houndoom approached snarling, jaws wide open. A massive green fist swung from above and smashed into the Houndoom's flank. The fire-type instinctively released a Flamethrower at the source, and Cruz responded with a massive Hyper Beam. The two attacks collided and exploded. While the Houndoom was knocked backwards Cruz stepped in front of Ritchie, absorbing the brunt of the force.

"Cruz," Ritchie whispered gratefully.

"Sableye, Faint Attack on Tyranitar! Raticate, use assurance!" Cassidy yelled. Cruz let out a massive roar that caused everyone to cringe. The Houndoom, Sableye and Raticate all retreated to their Poke Balls, as did Meowth, much to Ritchie's surprise.

Cassidy and Butch took one look at the burning rage in the Tyranitar's eyes and did the only sensible thing they could; they ran. Cruz gave them one last Hyper Beam as a parting shot, causing both of them to soar up into the air with a scream.

The Tyranitar turned to its trainer, and Ritchie flinched in reflex. The Tyranitar halted and looked down at him, and Ritchie forced himself to look into it's eyes. They were full of compassion, contriteness, and loyalty.

"Thank you, Cruz," Ritchie whispered. The Tyranitar gave a surprisingly melodic cry and sat down on a nearby stump.

"Hey kid, listen," he heard Jessie say. "Thanks for helping me, but I need to know; why did Meowth go inside one of your Poke Balls when the Tyranitar used Roar?"

"I'm the Meowth's trainer," he said. Jessie was appalled.

"You _caught_ Meowth?" she reiterated.

"Yes, but... it's not right. I can't keep him as my Pokemon when I never even battled him for that right. I treat my Pokemon as my friends, but this Meowth is more sentient then a lot of humans that I've met." He sighed and shook his head. "I can't keep him. Not when one of his friends is right here, and needs him a hell of a lot more than I ever will." He grabbed Meowth's Poke Ball and tossed it high into the air. In a flash of blue light, Meowth was released. Ritchie stood up, leaning on Tyranitar for support.

"See you around sometime, maybe," he mumbled, beginning to head north again.

"Hey twoip, wait," Meowth called. Ritchie turned and looked back at the Pokemon. "I know I never treated you wid respect, but you did save me. Thanks." Ritchie smiled briefly.

"No problem. Take care of yourselves." He walked away into the bushes, leaving Jessie and Meowth alone in the clearing.

"What was it like being caught?" Jessie asked as she began to walk south, holding her arm awkwardly.

"Trust me, you don' ever wanna be in one o' dem Pokee-balls," Meowth answered.

* * *

He awoke. The nightmares, and the pain, were finally subsiding, but he knew it was no longer safe here. In his delusions he had screamed, and he knew that people had heard. He had to move on. 

He stood up, shaking a little in his weak state. Taking several deep breaths, he gathered his mind together and concentrated. In a rippling flash of light, he vanished.

* * *

**Thanks for all of your reviews guys. I'll try to have up Chapter Twenty-Three soon!**


	23. Hunter

**Here's Chapter Twenty-Three for you all. It's kind of short, but there is a lot of action in this chapter! **

**On a side note, you may remember how at the beginning of Chapter Eighteen, I posted a note stating that this story had been plagiarized. Well, it's been over a month since that now and the author, JbstormburstADV, - who had vehemently denied doing it for all of this time - has finally admitted (albeit in a Private Message on BMGF) that he did indeed plagiarize me. Having said that, he refuses to alter the plagiarized part at all. And so it remains an issue, although a bit more clear-cut now that the author has admitted to it. It's a pity that he denied it all of this time really, because all he did was lie to his own readers (and I know that there are some who are reading both my story and his).**

**Okay, rant over. I hope you enjoy!**

_

* * *

__400 years ago..._

"My Lord, I have crafted it," the short, humpbacked man said, bowing reverently before the King of Pokelantis.

"Where is it?" the King demanded, gripping his armrests more tightly. "Better yet, what is it, and how will it work?"

"Forgive me, my Lord, but it shall take time to explain how I created the technology needed for this," the man said, licking dry lips in fear at the insane King's response. The King looked at him impassively for a moment, and then nodded.

"Make it brief," he growled.

"Yes, my Lord," the man said, the relief evident in his eyes. "You know that I recently travelled to the city of Pokemopolis to exchange apprentices. While there, I found out that the smith of Pokemopolis has discovered a way to trap both people and Pokemon within objects!"

"Trap the Pokemon?" the King asked, interest beginning to glitter in his eyes.

"Yes, my Lord. The smith would not tell me how he accomplished this, but he demonstrated it by trapping and releasing an Alakazam within a spoon."

"A spoon?" the King asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Do you seek to mock me with this lie, smith?"

"No, my Lord, I swear it is no lie!" the smith protested, beginning to perspire.

"What significance could a spoon possibly have?" the King sneered. "No ruler would use an object that can not be construed as powerful!"

"M-my Lord," the smith said hurriedly, "the spoon is the symbol of Alakazam. It could be that by trapping it within a spoon, it heightens the Pokemon's own powers! And if the city were to be attacked and looted, the spoon would remain safe. What warlord would want to claim a spoon as the symbol of his victory? The Pokemon itself would remain safe in case of invasion!"

"Y-e-e-e-e-esss," the King hissed, stroking his chin in thought. "That makes sense..." He suddenly snapped to attention and glowered at the smith, making him recoil. "If the smith of Pokemopolis refused to reveal the technology, how did you obtain it?" he demanded.

"I used my Haunter to hypnotize him, Lord. While under the spell, he revealed to me every detail of the process," the smith answered.

"And you have used this information to craft an object of your own that can trap a Pokemon?" the King asked.

"Yes, my Lord."

"How long will it be trapped for?"

"Until it is released by the bearer, my Lord."

"Where is the object?" the King demanded. The smith turned and beckoned towards the doorway. From it, the smith's new apprentice appeared, carrying a silk-lined tray covered by an elegant blanket. The apprentice bowed once he reached them and knelt, proffering the tray high. The King leaned forwards expectantly as the smith swept off the blanket. His face fell.

"Smith," he growled dangerously.

"Yes, my Lord?" the smith asked.

"Where is the object? I did not ask for two rocks!"

"These rocks are the objects, my Lord," the smith began.

"Rocks," the King repeated.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Why rocks?" the King asked.

"A rock is easily mistaken for another, my Lord. These rocks have been shaped into perfect sphere to distinguish them. If a thief were to look for the objects, he would never suspect a rock, and thus they would be left alone."

"What does the sphere represent?" the King growled. The smith felt himself begin to shake as he heard the danger in the King's voice.

'It represents the world, my Lord," he said, licking dry lips, "and your eventual conquest of it." The King looked at the smith for a long moment. Then he began to laugh. The smith was stunned. He had never heard the King laugh before, not even when he was a child.

"Very good, smith, you have evaded the Stark Pit for now," he chuckled. "Tell me though, why have you brought me two?"

"If my Lord desires a second, or a third, Pokemon captured, he will be ready," the smith answered. The King chuckled again and waved his hand in dismissal. The smith almost tripped over himself in his haste to leave, his apprentice following behind.

The King clicked his fingers and a guard appeared at his side. "Bring me the Claydol," he ordered. The guard nodded and vanished, returning moments later with a Pokemon. The King looked at it momentarily and then picked up one of the two stone spheres. He held it carefully, noted the small square hole at one end and then turned back to the Pokemon.

"You will be a gift for my brother in Whoeen," he said. "Serve him well." He raised the sphere over his head, pointing the hole towards the Pokemon and waited. A light tingle began playing over his fingertips and he closed his eyes expectantly. There was a rushing sound, and when the king opened his eyes the Claydol had vanished. He immediately put his eye to the hole and grinned as he saw a purple energy swirling inside.

"Excellent," he murmured. "Ho-Oh will soon be mine..."

* * *

_Present Day..._

Giovanni marked his page carefully and closed the book, placing it back onto his desk. He turned and looked out of his office window thoughtfully. He had read it several times, and he knew that every word of it was true. One of his undercover agents had discovered Pokemopolis almost a decade ago, and accidentally released the Alakazam from the spoon. A few months ago a team had uncovered what they believed were the ruins of Pokelantis, nearby Pewter City. While exploring its many secret tunnels, they had come across a gigantic hole in the ground that was covered in scorch marks. They had deduced that this must have been the Stark Pit, once home to the legendary Pokemon Heatran. Giovanni grinned.

Heatran was, of course, no longer there. It had long since made it's home in the far north of Sinnoh, before it's capture only a couple of hours ago with a Dark Ball. Mentally he counted off all of the legendaries that they had managed to obtain. Heatran; Uxie; Raikou; Suicune; Regirock; Regice; Registeel; Rayquaza; Zapdos; Articuno; Mesprit; Groudon; and now Celebi thanks to Paul, although it still had to be brought back to HQ. He frowned in thought; he was sure that there was one that he was forgetting... There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Giovanni called neutrally, still looking out the window. The door opened and closed quietly, but the footsteps that approached his desk radiated confidence.

"I've captured the remaining Sinnoh legendaries," a woman said in a sleek voice that made the hair on Giovanni's neck stand up. He turned slowly and watched impassively as she emptied a small bag of Dark Balls onto his desk.

"All?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She smirked.

"I have to say that your assignment was unusual," she said. "My clients normally ask me to look for rare Pokemon, not legendaries. And I've never had to capture them with a Poke Ball after petrifying them before."

"I prefer the convenience of a Poke Ball," Giovanni replied coolly. The woman shrugged.

"We all have our preferences," she said. "I must admit though, your collection intrigues me. Why do you want to collect all of the legendary Pokemon?"

"That," Giovanni stated coldly, "is my own business." The woman stared back at him unflinchingly, challenge in her eyes. "You can collect your fee at the front desk," he said, dismissing her. She looked at him disdainfully for a moment, and then turned on her wheels and walked towards the exit.

"Oh, and J," Giovanni added, causing her to pause. "Did you find Latios?"

"The last Latios died in Alto Mare City several years ago," J answered without turning around. "There are none left alive for me to capture."

"I see..." Giovanni sighed, disappointed. "Don't go too far, J. I may need your services again."

"I'm a Pokemon Hunter," she said coldly. "I go where my clients are." She walked out of the room, her head held high, although she was inwardly seething that Giovanni had come out of the confrontation with the advantage.

Giovanni sighed and sat in his chair. _So, Latios is gone after all,_ he thought dully. _Paul was right. This was all for nothing. Damn that Namba for mixing up Latios with Latias! Damn Annie and Oakley for killing it!_ He smashed his fist angrily onto the top of his desk. A concealed drawer popped open and hit him in the stomach. He roared and wrenched the drawer out of the desk throwing it across the room where it smashed.

He stood and glared around the room, his chest heaving with rage. A glitter caught his eye from the ruined drawer and he walked over to it curiously. A smile lit his face. "Of course," he muttered as he delicately lifted the object from the wreckage. "I stole this from the President when I took over Silph Co..." He strode quickly back to his desk, jabbing his finger on the intercom button.

"Namba, get up here now!" he roared into the speaker.

* * *

James crumpled, shivering, the moment that Wheezing passed over Ilex beach. Paul snorted disdainfully as he leaped gracefully off of the back of his Magnezone, recalling it as he landed. 

"Don't tell me that's the first time you've ever had Wheezing fly you around," he said cuttingly.

"Yes, actually," James gasped. "It's the first time I've crossed an ocean by dangling underneath a Pokemon too, and the first time I've ever hung in midair in the middle of a storm above a bunch of whirlpools!" Paul shook his head and began to walk up the beach towards the nearby trees. James struggled to his feet and staggered after him, Wheezing tagging behind.

"Hey, where are you going? Where are we?" he asked.

"Azalea Beach," Paul called back. "To get to Azalea Town we have to pass through the edge of Ilex Forest up ahead."

"And why exactly are we in Azalea Town?" James panted, struggling to catch up.

"Kurt," Paul replied.

* * *

Ash and May lagged a little ways behind Brock, Dawn, Pikachu, and Rey as they walked towards Vermillion City. It was early evening, and both of them were feeling a little awkward from revealing their feelings the night before. May looked at Ash, blushed, and quickly turned away. Ash looked at May, tripped, and fell to the ground face-first. Dawn looked back at Ash and May, rolled her eyes, and kept on walking. May sighed and helped an embarrassed Ash to his feet. 

"Thanks, May," he muttered, brushing off some dirt.

"You know Ash, you don't have to act different just because we kissed," May said. "You've barely said anything to me all day." Ash looked at her in surprise.

"I thought that you were the one acting different," he said. "I've been waiting for you to say something to me for hours!" May sighed.

"I think we need to work on this a little," she suggested.

"Guys!" Rey shouted from up ahead. "Look, it's Vermillion City!" Ash and May ran up to where Brock, Dawn, Pikachu, and Rey stood waiting at the top of a slight incline. Together, the six of them looked down upon the pristine city, and the glittering bay as it lapped gently against the pure silver beach.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful it was," Rey whispered.

"Pika.." Pikachu agreed, perching on her shoulder. Rey gave a sudden grin and began to run down towards the city.

"Catch me if you can!" she called. "I can't wait to try out that beach!"

"Rey, wait for us!" Brock shouted after her. He began to run after her, followed closely by Ash, May, and Dawn. The run soon turned into a race to see who could reach the city first. Rey began to laugh when she realized that she was well out in front. The laugh turned into a scream of fear as a narrow tyrian beam of light shot down from the sky, impacting the ground just in front of her. The beam began to widen and turn, transforming into a vortex, and a dark shape began to materialize within it.

"Bayleef!" Ash shouted, throwing a Poke Ball and running towards Rey. "Use Razor Leaf!"

"Bayyyy," Bayleef nodded, twirling her head and sending a flurry of viciously-sharp leaves towards the mysterious shape still hidden in the vortex. The figure crouched and extended one arm; the razor leaves hit a thin barrier projected by the arm and shattered into dozens of pieces.

"Vine Whip!" Ash ordered. Bayleef extended her vines and shot them towards the figure, but it twirled it's hand once and the vines circled backwards, slamming into Bayleef instead.

"Bayleef!" Ash shouted as the grass-type was thrust backwards, screaming in pain. "Pikachu, try a Thundershock!" He reached Ray as Pikachu unleased the electric attack and began to drag the seemingly frozen trainer backwards. He gritted his teeth and looked towards the figure as it easily deflected Pikachu's attack and the vortex began to disintegrate. The figure crossed its arms and from within the dying cyclone it's eyes began to glow a neon blue. It suddenly uncrossed both arms, and the vortex burst apart completely.

May, Dawn, and Rey stood immobile as they looked upon the strange creature. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu all gaped at it as it levitated slightly in front of them, taking in it's feline shape, and shuddering as it's cold personality washed over them. It's cape fluttered slightly as a light breeze began to blow towards them.

Ash looked into his cold eyes, and saw them soften slightly with recognition.

_So, after all of these years we meet again_, the caped figure said telepathically. _Ever since you saved my life in Johto, I have wondered if I would cross your path for a third time_.

"Mewtwo..." Ash whispered.

* * *

**So a couple of people were proved right in this chapter. Whoever suspected that the caped figure was Mewtwo, and that the reason Paul and James were going to Azalea Town because of Kurt, congratulations! On a side note, I will be spending two weeks over Christmas in England. During this time I will be unable to write anymore of this story. What I will try to do instead is write as much as I can before I leave, and upload it to Then, over the holidays, I will post those uploaded chapters for you all to read. I can guarantee that there won't be an upload on Christmas Day though, as I won't be in a place that has internet connection.**

** As ever, please review!**


	24. Theft

**I am very happy to report that the plagiarism issue has now been resolved; the author agreed to change their story, and has done so. So this is the last you will hear from me on the issue; I also want to make it clear that I harbour no ill will towards the author. I believe that it was an honest mistake, although one that still needed to be rectified. **

**Back on topic, I think that this is the shortest chapter I've written yet. That doesn't make it any less action-packed though! To answer some of your questions/comments; no, the object that Giovanni found wasn't the Master Ball. ADV is actually a common addition to the usernames of Advanceshippers. It's basically just short for "Advanceshipper", and tells everyone in the fandom who their favourite shipping pair is. **

**I've been writing every chance that I get, and as a Christmas present to you, all of the chapters that I have written will go up Christmas Eve (including this one). Who knows how many chapters there will be? At least two, maybe even three! I would hope for more, but school assignments were pouring in left, right, and centre! ****I know that this upload is earlier in the day than normal, but I'm in England right now so I'm five hours ahead of where I usually am.**

**I hope that you all remember who Drew and Silver are!**

_

* * *

May turned in her sleeping bag, her mouth opened slightly in her sleep. She breathed slowly and heavily, her chest rising up and down in a steady motion. From the nearby fire Drew sat watching, his face partially hidden in shadow from the blackness of the night._

_He watched her quietly, observing the counters of her body and her slight motions. His gaze lingered for a moment on her soft lips, and he felt a stirring in his chest. He let out a small sigh of pleasure and contentment and lay back on his own sleeping bag, staring upwards at the clear sky._

_Tomorrow, they would arrive in Mahogany Town where May was planning to enter the Pokemon Contest being held two days after. He grinned and patted his pants pocket, feeling the ribbon case press into his thigh; he already had his five ribbons, so he didn't need to enter._

I'll tell her after the contest_, he decided._ After she wins, I'll tell her how much I want to be with her_. With a sizzling hiss, the fire burnt itself out and Drew closed his eyes, feeling the comfortable warmth of sleep steal over him._ Three days,_ he thought, the words echoing inside his head. _Three days, three days, three days, three...

* * *

He awoke, the tears flowing thick and heavy down his face. He sat up, struggling to contain his emotions, but to no avail. The tears continued to leak from his eyes, and eventually he just gave up and let them overcome him. 

Those dreams were just memories; memories of a near forgotten time when the difficulties of life seemed no greater than earning that next ribbon. Those times were gone now, and no matter how much he regretted his mistakes, no matter how much he wished that he had chosen differently, no matter how much that he tried to fix what had happened, he knew that those times would never be back. They were little more than dreams, faint traces of the person that he used to be; of the person that he wished he still was. A person who knew success, and friendship.

A person who knew love.

* * *

The young Fearow sat despondently on a low branch, barely hidden from view by the foliage. For days now, it had sat there, waiting. The Fearow was still small, barely old and large enough to have left it's nest. Yet now it lived alone, parted from the one who had saved it from certain death. It let out a melancholy croak and shivered against the bark. 

When it's trainer had been captured, and his Pokemon seized, only the Fearow had escaped; the Team Rocket grunts had failed to notice the small flying-type hidden in the trees. It had followed them to their base, and had seen it's trainer forced roughly inside. It had not seen him since.

The Fearow's attention was distracted by the sound of shouting coming from the Rocket base. Curious, it poked it's beak through the foliage for a look. A tall, muscular man with long, spiky, steel-grey hair emerged from a door, running hard and panting heavily. Three Team Rocket grunts were hard on his heels, and reaching for their Poke Balls.

Flapping it's little wings, the Fearow emerged from the tree and flew straight towards the four quickly-moving people. The man being pursued saw the quickly-approaching Fearow and let out a yelp of surprise, ducking his head instinctively, and tripping. The Fearow swept past him and took aim at the lead grunt, it's beak beginning to spin. The grunt let out a yell as the Drill Peck connected and he was driven back into his two peers. The Fearow's temper began to rise as it saw the black uniforms emblazoned with the big red 'R', the sign of the ones who had taken away it's master.

It let out an enraged squawk of anger and began to launch a series of sharp and well-placed Pecks at the three Rocket Grunts. They yelled in pain at the assault, and began to beat a hasty retreat. Silver climbed to his feet and proffered an arm to the flying-type.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a common enemy," he said as the Fearow landed on his arm. "What made you hate the Rockets so much?"

"Fee, fearow row fee," the Fearow croaked. Silver raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry to hear that, kid, even though I don't really understand what you were saying. Still, any enemy of the Rockets is a friend of mine!"

"Fee?" the Fearow asked, and Silver's gaze darkened; the Fearow's question was obvious.

"The Rockets have done nothing but interfere with my life, ever since I was a kid. They stole my father's prize Parasect, they used me to try and capture Moltres, but worst of all, they killed my brother. His son never even found out who he was." He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists angrily, swallowing hard against the rage that threatened to seize control of him. The Fearow croaked sympathetically and Silver jerked his head, coming back to reality.

"We'd better go before some more competent grunts show up," he said. "Lead the way, kid."

"Feee," the Fearow agreed, sweeping it's wings and soaring into the sky. Silver noted it's direction and began to follow, never once taking his eyes off of the Pokemon.

"There's something funny about that bird," he muttered.

* * *

The old man made his final careful adjustment and leaned back with a sigh. His arthritic fingers were aching worse than ever, but he had finally completed it; what he knew would be the last Apricorn Ball that he would ever make. 

The door smashed open, and Kurt whirled around in surprise. Paul stormed inside, his Magnezone close behind. He slammed the door behind him, and stared at the ancient smith for a moment before walking quickly towards him.

"What?" Kurt managed to get out before Paul grabbed him by the collar and lifted him against the wall. Kurt floundered helplessly against his grip.

"Where is it?" Paul hissed.

"Where's what?" Kurt asked in fear.

"_The GS Ball_! I know that you have it here somewhere, and that you've been studying it for nine years. _Where is it_?"

"G-gone," Kurt spluttered, his face beginning to turn purple.

"Where?" Paul roared.

"K-Kanto," Kurt wheezed. "I gave it a young woman who knows Professor Oak. She'd been asked to take it by him. She was supposed to give it to him. She took off on her Pidgeot straight after I gave it to her, I swear!"

"When?" Paul breathed menacingly. "_When_?"

"Only a couple of days ago," Kurt whispered. Paul relaxed his grip and allowed Kurt to slide to the floor. He turned and began to walk towards the door, pausing only briefly to pocket the Apricorn Ball that Kurt had so lovingly crafted.

"Magnezone, Thunder Wave him," he ordered. Kurt let out a cry as the electrical jolt shook through his system, paralysing his stiff old joints. His eyes watered in pain and shame as Paul and his Pokemon left the house, unable to move even a muscle.

"Why..." he managed to wheeze before the pain became too much and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Happy Holidays to everyone, and a safe New Year! Don't forget the next chapter, part two of my holiday upload, and as ever please review!**


	25. Presence

**Well, I managed to get two chapters up for the holidays; not as many as I'd hoped. Still, I hope that you enjoy this last part of my Christmas present to you! And even though PikamasterADV is back, I hope that you'll continue to read _Final Challenge!_ Happy reading, and happy holidays!**

* * *

''There are several more specimens that I require,'' Giovanni said, looking out of the window at the mountainous landscape before him. 

''They are?'' J asked coldly.

''Kyogre, Manaphy, Jirachi, Latias and Deoxys,'' Giovanni responded. ''We've located the positions of all but Latias.'' J raised an eyebrow.

''Impressive,'' she said sleekly. ''However did you manage to do that?''

''Kyogre is currently nearby the Sea Temp-''

''A myth,'' J interrupted, waving a hand dismissively.

''A fact,'' Giovanni responded coldly, turning to face the tall, slim Pokemon Hunter. ''I've known of the location of the Sea Temple for a long time; we infiltrated the organization of a man known as the Phantom several years ago. He has tried several times now to steal the Temple's riches, but has been defeated each time by the Kyogre, along with many other water Pokemon. The Kyogre now seems to live at the Temple permanently as it's protector.''

''Manaphy?'' J asked.

''Also at the Sea Temple,'' Giovanni responded.

''Jirachi?''

''Why don't I just download the information into your Poketch?'' Giovanni suggested. ''I'm a busy man, and I don't have time to personally tell you every location.'' J glowered at him, but then nodded.

''Oh, and I also require a Soul Dew,'' Giovanni said lightly.

''I don't suppose you'll tell me why?'' J asked dryly. Giovanni smiled, his demeanour turning from jovial to menacing.

''You don't suppose right,'' he said. ''Don't take the whole thing, that will only cause a disaster. All I need is the core.''

''What about my fee?'' she asked.

''After these five Pokemon and the Soul Dew, I will only need Entei, Moltres, Mew, and Ho-Oh,'' Giovanni said. ''Consider your payment double what it was for all of the Sinnoh legendary Pokemon.'' J grinned.

''Deal,'' she said. The door burst open and a Grunt ran in, panting heavily.

''Sir,'' he gasped. ''There's been an incident; Silver's escaped!''

* * *

''What the hell is that thing?'' Rey shrieked, regaining her senses at last. 

''Oh no...'' Brock muttered, covering his eyes.

_Thing?_ Mewtwo demanded of Rey. _**Thing?** I walk under the same sky, I breathe the same air, I drink the same water as you, and yet you call me a thing?_ Mewtwo glared at all of them, his personality cold and hostile once more. _Humans are all the same_, he muttered. _They care only for themselves_.

''Mewtwo, you know that's not true,'' Ash said. ''You remember what happened in Johto. Not every person in this world is like Team Rocket.''

_Those who aren't are too few and far between to bother spending any thoughts on_, Mewtwo retorted.

''And just a couple of minutes ago you said 'I have wondered if I would cross your path for a third time','' Ash said softly.

Mewtwo glared at him, but was quickly distracted when he realized that he was in an open field. _Why am I here_? he demanded suddenly.

''The same as any of us, I guess,'' Brock answered. ''To live.''

_If this is your attempt at humour..._ Mewtwo growled. _I meant why am I here in this field? I was supposed to materialize directly in Vermillion City._

''Oh, well, you didn't miss it by much,'' Brock answered, pointing. ''It's just down this hill.''

_This is very disquieting_, Mewtwo muttered. _I know of nothing that can interrupt my teleportation and lead me to land elsewhere_. He turned suddenly to May. _You_, he growled. _There is a dark presence overshadowing you; you bear evil's mark_.

''M-me?'' May squeaked, trembling as Mewtwo's cold personality washed over her. Mewtwo raised a paw and twisted it slightly. A dark purple aura enveloped his paw and began to glow brightly; May gasped as the same aura surrounded her, causing her to levitate.

''Hey, what are you doing?'' Ash yelled as she soared higher, jumping to try and drag her back down. Mewtwo ignored him, twisting a paw and causing her to rise even higher above the ground.

_I can't get it_, he growled angrily, more to himself although everyone could hear him. _I can feel it but I just can't grasp it!_

''Mewtwo!'' Ash shouted. Mewtwo jerked around and glared at him.

_What?_ he demanded.

''Please, bring her down,'' Ash begged. ''She's too high, and she could be hurt if she falls!'' Mewtwo gave one last surge of energy, but when the dark presence refused to be dislodged, he relented, returning May to the ground.

_Your presence endangers everyone here_, he growled to the coordinator. _I don't know what it is that you carry, but only an object crafted from darkness can resist my Psychic powers._

''Hey!'' Ash shouted, stepping in front of May protectively. ''Stop saying that! May is the purest person I know and she would never hurt anyone, let alone put anyone in danger by carrying a dark object! I think all those years of solitude have damaged your mind, clone!''

''Cool it, Ash,'' Brock snapped, jumping in between the two. Ash glared at Mewtwo menacingly, who stared back coldly.

_You are indeed unique among humans, and yet unnervingly similar_, Mewtwo stated; everyone shuddered at the tone of his words. _You do not hesitate risking your life to save others, but at the same time you jeer at those same people with barbed words designed only to hurt. You are wrong; humans are all the same; they care only for their own kind_.

His eyes stared into May's, glowing a bright blue for a moment. _Don't be so sure of your own assertions, human. She is not so pure as you think. Where she travels, hurt and despair follow. Whether she is willing bearer of her burden, or aware of what harm it causes, I do not know. But she carries evil with her, and it is an evil that is best left hidden again for eternity_.

Mewtwo turned and vanished. With his disappearance, May collapsed into Ash's arms, shivering uncontrollably, her eyes wide and staring.

''May,'' Ash whispered softly. As he cradled her gently, a voice flashed through his mind; a voice that he recognized as Mewtwo's.

_Whether willing or not, we are irrevocably and eternally linked to one another_, he said. _I can hear your thoughts just as easily as you can hear mine. Anger does much to alter one's personality; I, of all creatures, understand this most. I know that in your heart you regret your degradation of myself._

_Through our link I can sense how much you care for this girl, and I know that it is this caring that sparked your outburst. Such feelings are beyond my comprehension. However you did save my life once, and of all of the creatures on this planet you are the closest there is to a friend. For this I forgive your outburst, although I shall not forget it._

_We are permanently linked by our thoughts; we are one, but we are not the same. In times of danger, we have to carry each other. If ever you are in need of my help, simply call for me and I shall come. I know that you shall do the same, friend._

''Mewtwo,'' Ash whispered, his emotions filled with regret, shame, and worry.

* * *

Giovanni slammed his hands onto his desk, cracking the wood. 

''What do you mean Silver's escaped?'' he demanded.

''Somebody left his cage door open, and he escaped the building,'' the grunt babbled, backing towards the door.

''Now wait just one minute!'' Giovanni roared. ''Why was his cage door open? Who opened it? How did something so big escape without any alarms being raised?'' The grunts face blanked for a moment and then he let out a little laugh of relief; a mistake. Giovanni strode around his desk and grabbed the grunt by the throat, lifting him into the air.

''Now,'' he said in a deceptively calm voice, ''I want you to explain this to me like we're not faced with a potentially critical situation!''

''Wrong Silver...'' the grunt gurgled, slowly beginning to turn blue. ''Hostage... escaped... Fearow helped...'' Giovanni released the gasping grunt, unnervingly calm again.

''Ah, you mean the prisoner,'' he said with a slight smile. ''Send out Grunts, six groups of four. Have them search the perimeter and report back every 90 minutes. Use the Zubat and Golbat to search the trees with their supersonic. Put the stolen Poke Balls under lockdown; we don't need him retrieving his Salamence. Place teams of three at every entrance and exit, and double the security for Namba's lab and the legendary room.''

''Sir!'' the Grunt saluted, running out of the room.

''Impressive,'' J drawled. ''You strangle the man, and he still obeys you without question. That is some impressive loyalty.''

''Are you still here?'' Giovanni demanded. ''I hired you to hunt, not to offer advice! Get after those Pokemon, now!'' J looked at him impassively and then walked towards the window. She stopped at the large pane of glass, and then turned to face the leader of Team Rocket.

''Salamence, Dragon Claw,'' she said calmly, pointing a Poke Ball behind her. The massive dragon-type materialized and shattered the window with one fierce slash. It swooped outside and J followed, jumping lightly onto it's back. ''Silver isn't the only one with a Salamence,'' she said coldly to Giovanni. ''I suggest you keep that in mind; you don't want me as your enemy.''

''Nor you, I,'' he whispered softly as she swooped out of sight, fingering the precious trinket in his suit pocket.

* * *

**Happy holidays to you all! As ever, please review (you can make it my Christmas present)! Have a safe and fun New Years! 2008 is when this story will conclude...**


	26. Defeat

**Reading over my reviews and then over my story to this date has just confirmed what I have been suspecting for a while. I've fallen into the same trap that so many other authors have without realizing it. I've been trying to get through the plot so quickly that I've let the plot direct the characters, rather than let the characters drive the plot. Hopefully this chapter is the first step to rectifying that mistake.**

**Most of you seem to think that I've written Mewtwo out of character. Early on in the fic I mentioned that Ash is 20 when this story takes place (I'm not sure how many of you remember that). Although I know that Pokemon is a floating timeline, my story isn't written that way. The last time that Ash met Mewtwo, he would have been 12 or 13 years old. And remember that Mewtwo doesn't stay in one location for any more than a couple of days. Imagine the strain that 8 years of near total isolation from every other being has on your personality. Mewtwo doesn't stay in one place long enough to interact with anybody. Is it so hard to believe that his personality has changed over such a long time? I actually think it's pretty realistic for him to act in such a cold manner.**

**And Xaotl, have I ever included something in this fic that didn't have relevance to the plot? P We'll see more of Drew in this chapter, and hopefully a bit more of his position in this plot will become clear. He is an integral element when it comes to developing May's history/current personality, and will play a role in the end. And we'll soon learn why he tried to kidnap May all those chapters ago too...**

**And speaking of Drew, this chapter is chock-full of Contestshipping! Advanceshippers unite to kill Matkin22! **

**Happy New Years to everyone!**

* * *

It soared freely through the air. It's long, perfectly streamlined form allowed it to move at speeds that made it almost invisible to humans. As it moved through the skies, it briefly contemplated it's past on the planet. The memories of the burning cold that had encased it for years upon years still hovered in it's mind. Even now, the effects of it's long trip to the planet were felt on it's body. No matter how many hot lands it travelled to, it never truly felt warm. But still... at least now it was free to roam the globe, meeting as many new Pokemon as it possibly could. 

It flew through the sky with unrivalled confidence, outstripping the Wailord in the water, the Rapidash on the land, and even the Pidgeot which shared the air. Revelling in it's freedom, the Deoxys let loose a foghorn blast and swooped down towards a small valley in the midst of a mountain range, feeling a hunger in it's belly.

A sudden confusion ran through the Deoxys' body. Drawn unexpectedly to the right, it bypassed the valley and headed for a tall waterfall in the distance. Lances of pain suddenly shot through it's body as it drew closer, but the Pokemon was unable to resist the attraction of the waterfall. Blackness covered it's vision, and the Deoxys dropped swiftly to the ground, losing control of it's speed and direction. Desperately trying to shield itself from the unexpected pain which had overcome it, the Pokemon morphed into it's secure Defense form, but the pain was unavoidable. It crashed heavily to the ground.

It heard hurried footsteps approach, the creature snapping branches without care as it approached. The Deoxys attempted to stand and escape, but it swooned as the pain hit once again; it fell to the ground, completely disoriented. The footsteps halted, and reaching out with it's Psychic nature, the Deoxys realized that the creature was standing only a few feet ago.

_Help me, I am in terrible pain,_ the Deoxys tried to say, but only an unintelligible stream of alien language poured from it's mouth.

"Deoxys, Defense form," it heard a voice say, although it could not understand the human language.

"Do we have one yet?" another asked.

"No," the first replied, "this is our first Deoxys. You radio to base; I'll get it with the Dark Ball."

"Rocket HQ, we have located a distressed Deoxys in its Defense form," the second voice said. "Capturing is underway, and the Pokemon will be relocated to base immediately." There was a burst of static, but the Deoxys heard neither HQ's response, nor the cry of triumph as the Dark Ball was thrown. It heard only the mad thoughts that began to swirl through it's head as pain and confusion took over it's world.

* * *

Professor Namba grumbled sourly as he climbed the elegant spiral staircase that led to Giovanni's office. A very frightened Cassidy and Butch followed, seeming shrunken and diminished. No semblance of life existed in their wasted faces. They had failed in their mission; they were as good as dead. Namba glared back at them, his cruel face showing no sign of pity. 

"I hope you're satisfied," he growled, stopping in font of an imposing set of double doors. "Since I have to report at the same time as you, I'll be shouted at too! All because of your failure." Cassidy and Butch looked at each incredulously. Did this man care more about whether he was shouted at than two lives? Giving them each one last sour glance, Namba turned and knocked lightly on the doors.

"Enter," Giovanni's cold voice said.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" Namba asked, pushing open the doors and striding into the room quickly, Cassidy and Butch slinking through before they closed.

"Ah, Professor Namba. Yes, I wanted to clear up a couple of things regarding your research and your schedule," Giovanni said, stroking his Persian delicately. "First off, you successfully mutated the Pokerus to create the Perporus, correct?"

"The Permanent Pokemon Virus? Yes, I did," Namba answered, slightly confused.

"And you injected it into a test Raticate, where the Pokerus effects were permanent?"

"Yes, the Raticate continued to be infected after 24 hours, and all of the Pokerus's effects remained, including its contagiousness. The specimen also responded to all commands given by it's trainer, so we concluded a 100 loyalty rate, which sets it apart from the Pokerus."

"Very good," Giovanni said with a slight smile. "Now, I have one last question to ask. Once a Pokemon has been infected with Pokerus, it can never catch the disease again. Can a Pokemon that has recovered from Pokerus be infected with the Perporus?"

"From our experiments so far, yes," Namba answered, puzzled. "After the test with the Raticate, we tried it with the Rayquaza that Attila and Hun captured. As you know, it was suffering from Pokerus when it went on that rampage that was caught on TV. The Rayquaza showed all of the same signs that the Raticate did." Giovanni stopped stroking his Persian and stood, beckoning Namba forward.

"Earlier today, two of our grunts radioed in to say that they had seen a Deoxys fall from the sky. They located the Pokemon and caught it with a Dark Ball. The Pokemon was heading in this direction when it crashed, and it was suffering from the Perporus."

"But how could they tell? How is it possible?" Namba demanded.

"They could tell from it's reactions," Giovanni said. "Both are part of your lab team, and just happened to be walking through the forest at the time. They were lucky enough to see it crash. As for how it became infected, I had hoped that you would be able to tell me."

"I know of no way for the disease to spread," Namba said, gritting his teeth. "I do not know how it can be caught without direct physical contact. That numbskull Oak does, but I have never been able to steal that part of his research data. The Perporus has never left the lab, and the Deoxys has never been in the lab. There must be some sort of connection between the Deoxys and Rayquaza, but I do not know what it is."

"Investigate it, Namba," Giovanni ordered. "You have both specimens; do whatever it takes short of a potentially deadly surgery to figure it out! The Deoxys was heading directly towards us. If this connection can be discovered, we may not need Hunter J to capture them for us, we can attract them ourselves!"

"I will examine them both," Namba agreed. "If I may ask, what form was the Deoxys in?" he asked.

"It was trying to shield itself from the virus in Defense form," Giovanni replied.

"So we still need three more specimens for our experiment," Namba mused, bowing and walking out of the room. Giovanni sat down with a smile, one hand resting unconsciously on an ancient tome that lay on his desk. His gaze roamed around the room, freezing on Cassidy and Butch as he saw them still standing there nervously.

"Can I help you?" he asked. Butch swallowed before answering.

"Sir, you wanted to see us," he said.

"Cassidy and Butch?" Giovanni asked. They both nodded. "Ah, I seem to remember telling you both that if you failed, you would be killed. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Cassidy whispered almost inaudibly, her red lips barely moving.

"Where are they?" Giovanni asked, spreading his arms. "I don't see them here. Why is that?"

"Because we... we failed in our mission, sir," Butch answered. Giovanni nodded approvingly and leaned forwards.

"You're not trying to excuse what you did; good. Lets discuss your fate."

* * *

_May glared across the Contest field at a smirking Harley. She only had four ribbons, and needed this win to enter in the Johto Grand Festival. This was the final Contest before the Festival at Mount Silver, and it was a double battle, something May had never truly been comfortable with. To make matters worse, the moment he had learned that she needed this ribbon to qualify, Harley, in his typical nasty fashion had entered it, even though he already had his five ribbons. _

_She gritted her teeth and stepped forwards as she was announced. She knew that somewhere in the audience, Drew was watching, and at the thought of his name her heart fluttered. "I won't lose," she whispered to herself. Harley gave her a cheerful little wave as he too was announced by the special guest MC, Hoenn's Vivian._

_"Get ready," he said with a wink. "I'm going to blow you away."_

_"In your dreams, Harley," May shot back as the clock started. "Blaziken, Ledian; take the stage!"_

_"Let's go Octillery, Magcargo, it's time to shine!" Harley called, throwing forward his own two Poke Balls. The four Pokemon materialized simultaneously on the field, each one quickly trying to get comfortable with the layout of the field._

_"Blaziken, Fire Spin! Ledian, Silver Wind!" May shouted. A powerful, flaming vortex left Blaziken's maw, and it speed was quickly increased by the Silver Wind which rammed it from behind._

_"Too easy," Harley snorted. "Magcargo, stop that Fire Spin with your Lava Plume; Octillery, hit Blaziken with a Wring Out!" A solid stream of fire was aimed at the Fire Spin by Magcargo, halting the attack completely._

_The two flames fused and exploded, and through the smoke clouds Octillery charged forwards, taking both Blaziken and Ledian by surprise as it materialized completely unexpectedly. It leapt into the air and wrapped it's tentacles tightly around Blaziken's throat, spinning around the tall fire-type in a perfect U-turn before releasing it's grip and vanishing back into the slowly clearing smoke. Blaziken dropped to it's knees, one clawed hand painfully massaging it's damaged throat. May looked up at the score clock in disbelief, seeing her points drop first from Magcargo's deflection, and again from Octillery's Wring Out._

_"Ledian, use Hidden Power on Octillery, and Blaziken, you use Ember on Magcargo," she shouted._

_"Octillery, use Octazooka and Magcargo, counter Ember with your own!" Harley ordered. Ledian whirled it's wings at a high speed, forming several green spheres which it then flung at Octillery. The water-type retaliated by shooting several black pellets from it's mouth, deflecting the grass-type Hidden Power back at Blaziken on ricochet. May's starter, still on it's knees, unleashed a barrage of red cinders at Harley's Magcargo, but the attack fizzled out before the counterattack even hit. Blaziken was slammed head-on, first by Magcargo's Ember, and then by the deflected Hidden Power._

_"Blaziken!" May screamed, beginning to realize that Octillery's earlier Wring Out had actually done some serious damage to Blaziken and was preventing it from being able to use any fire attacks effectively._ That was a good move_, she realized._ Now I'll have to fight in close, but that won't work well for Ledian. He's forcing me to use two different attack methods. Well, I've still got some moves in store for him!

_"Blaziken, Sky Uppercut on Magcargo!" she shouted, and her starter managed to climb to it's knees, although it ran more slowly than usual and breathed harshly._

_"Reflect," Harley said with a smirk, and a brilliantly-shining barrier was conjured in front of his fire-type; Blaziken, both fists glowing, smashed directly into the defensive barrier. It bent under the impact but rebounded; Blaziken was thrown backwards, taking on the damage from the Sky Uppercut itself. "Now use Rock Tomb!" Harley ordered and his Magcargo reared up before slamming itself into the ground, causing a massive pillar of rock to enfold May's Pokemon; the powerful fire-type struggled but it was completely trapped and unable to move._

_"Octillery, Water Gun on Blaziken!" Harley commanded._

_"Ledian, block that with Aerial Ace!" May shouted desperately._

_"Knock Ledian away with Yawn, Magcargo!" Harley countered. Octillery shot a powerful burst of water at the helpless Blaziken. Ledian swooped down, streams of air plying around it's speeding form as it smashed directly into the attack, deflecting the damage away from Blaziken. Magcargo yawned powerfully, and a massive bubble floated gently towards Ledian; it never saw the attack through the gush of water, and fell to the ground, sound asleep. With no obstacle in the way the Water Gun regained it's course, smashing straight into the Rock Tomb and Blaziken. It shuddered as the attack sapped it's strength._

_"Now, let's finish this up!" Harley said with a grin. "Magcargo, use Overheat!"_

_"Blaziken, I know you're hurt and that your fire attacks aren't working. But I know that you still have strength left, and I believe in you! Brick Break and then Overheat!" May shouted. Blaziken eyes glowed fiercely as it's body was enveloped in a shining red aura. With a massive effort, it smashed both arms against the sides of the Rock Tomb, breaking free from the attack before jumping high into the air to avoid the Magcargo's attack. It aimed and unleashed a sizzling barrage of intense flames that shone far too brightly for anyone to look at. The attack smashed through the Reflect with ease, destroying it, and hit Magcargo point-blank. Three red X's appeared on the judges scorecard, and Harley's remaining points were halved. He gritted his teeth angrily; now he and May were almost even._

_"No matter," Harley muttered as he recalled his exhausted Magcargo. "Octillery has the type-advantage, and Ledian's still sleeping. Octillery, use Fire Blast on Ledian!"_

_"Ledian, wake up!" May pleaded with her sleeping bug-type as the powerful fire attack bore down on it._

_"Leh... leh..." Ledian breathed gently, still asleep on the battlefield._

_"Blaziken, Sky Uppercut that Fire Blast now!" she shouted. Blaziken charged forwards, fists glowing again. It swung powerfully at the centre of the attack, smashing straight through. Ledian awoke just in time to see the two attacks collide and explode; the force drove Ledian backwards into the wall, where it collapsed. Blaziken was also thrown backwards, although it was able to stop short of the wall. May and Blaziken both glared through the smoke, trying to see Octillery. It slowly became visible, dancing gently inside of a Protect; it hadn't been damaged from the explosion at all._

_"No way," May whispered._

_"Blayy," Blaziken groaned, all of the battle damage finally catching up. The red aura faded and it slumped to the ground, completely immobile._

_"Blaziken, stand up!" May shouted._

_"And Blaziken is unable to battle!" Vivian announced. "That means the winner is Harley! We'll be awarding him momentarily with his incredible sixth ribbon! Folks, this more than qualifies him for the Grand Festival, which will..."_

_May withdrew both Ledian and Blaziken, her eyes downcast. Only one thought reverberated through her mind._ I lost... I didn't qualify... It's over... _She began to trudge back to the dressing rooms, pausing to look back only briefly. Harley, holding his new ribbon, caught her eye and winked._

_"Better luck next year, hun," he mouthed._

* * *

_Drew leaned against the doorframe, waiting for May at the entrance to the dressing rooms; he was the only person there, everyone else having left to congratulate Harley on the field. He watched as May's figure approached slowly out of the dim hallway, moving slowly and without any real sense of direction. She stopped in front of him and looked up from the floor, her red-rimmed eyes meeting his._

_"I've never lost so badly to him before," she whispered, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. "It's all over; I didn't qualify."_

_"You know why you lost, don't you?" Drew said. May shook her head wordlessly. Drew sighed, looking away for a moment as he tried to think how to best word how she had lost her disastrous battle._

_"You went into that contest to win a ribbon. There was a lot of pressure because it was your last chance to qualify for the Grand Festival this year. But then you found out that Harley was entering too, just to try and stop you from qualifying. So what did you do? You played right into his hands._

_"You went into the appeals trying to win a ribbon, but you went into the finals trying to beat Harley. You started off in the right way by combining Fire Spin and Silver Wind, but then Harley blocked both attacks perfectly and countered with that Wring Out. When that happened, you stopped trying to win a ribbon. All that you wanted was revenge for that surprise attack."_

_"He hurt Blaziken!" May protested. "It could barely breathe, of course I wanted to get him back for that!"_

_"In a Contest Battle you don't get revenge by trying to overpower the opponent!" Drew shouted. "You get revenge by beating them tactically. Harley didn't break any rules, and you were lucky that Blaziken wasn't taken out in that first attack!" He paused a moment, striving to calm down._

_"You didn't battle with your head," he said, more gently. "You battled in desperation, and that stopped you from seeing Harley's game plan. He focused all of his attacks on your Blaziken, because he knows that it's your strongest Pokemon and Ledian is still inexperienced. He double-teamed Blaziken because then it would have been easy to take down Ledian. Why do you think he deflected Hidden Power at Blaziken? Why do you think he trapped Blaziken in a Rock Tomb and then ordered both of his Pokemon to concentrate their attacks on it?"_

_"I... I didn't realize that," May whispered softly, her eyes staring in recollection of the battle._

_"Of course you didn't," Drew said, slightly exasperated. "You battled like it was a regular trainer battle, forgetting that you lose points if your attacks miss or are blocked. You tried to take him down using pure power, not strategy." He chuckled humourlessly. "It's all the fault of Ash and Brock," he said. "Maybe they're your friends, but the last thing a Coordinator needs is to associate with a regular trainer. The battle style are just too different. You got influenced by them too much. You can make your attacks flashy during appeals, but you've never learned how to do that in the battle rounds."_

_"Ash and Brock are my friends," May said quietly, her face hardening. "I learnt more from them about battling and raising Pokemon than I ever could have on my own. I owe everything that I've done to them."_

_"Relax," Drew said, holding up both hands. "I wasn't putting them down, I was just saying that you've been influenced by their battle styles so much that it makes it difficult for you to battle in a Contest style. It's not a bad thing because it throws off people you've never battled before. But when it comes down to facing somebody who's seen the way you battle countless times, like Harley, it just makes it easy to take away your points." May sighed._

_"You're right," she said, collapsing into despair again. "I've done everything I wnated to avoid by coming to Johto." Drew sighed as he watched her pretty face contort with sadness. He hadn't planned on asking her like this, but..._

_"May," he said, "I have something really important to say, and I'm not quite sure how to say it."_

_"What is it?" she asked._

_"It's, well..." Feeling suddenly awkward, he reached for the back of his belt, drawing out a beautiful rose. "We've travelled for a long time, and been rivals even longer," he said. "It took me a long to realize it, but I... I've gotten feelings for you."_

_"Feelings?" May whispered, her heart suddenly pounding._

_"Yes," Drew said, his confidence surging when she didn't draw away. "May, I... I love you, and I want you by my side. I want to travel around the world with you, going to new places , and meeting all sorts of people and Pokemon."_

_He continued talking, but May had stopped listening, her mind wandering. She remembered all of the times when Drew had been there for her; encouraging her Beautifly; warning her about Harley's deceitful ways. In the shadows of her mind, there was a slight stirring of guilt for a trainer who she had travelled with and grown close too, but when Drew clasped her hands between his it vanished._

_"May, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked. She thought for a moment, her eyes searching his carefully._

_"Yes," she answered, the look of misery from her loss fading into a small smile. "Definitely." Drew grinned widely and embraced her tightly. His heart jittered briefly when he felt her chest squashed against his, but with a massive effort he forced himself not to think about the sensation._

_"Thank you, May," he found himself saying. "But now I have some good news for you!"_

_"Isn't a new boyfriend good news?" May asked with a slight laugh._

_"Yeah, but this balances out losing to Harley," Drew said. "There's actually one more contest left. It's in Blackthorn City in two weeks." May stiffened and stepped back from him._

_"I thought you said that this was the last contest of the year," she said quietly. Drew shrugged._

_"I lied," he said simply._

_"Why?" she asked, hurt evident in her face._

_"Because," he said, "Soledad is entering the Blackthorn contest, and I figured that you could do without the pressure of having to beat her to enter the Grand Festival. Now come on, let's get out of here. We can ride Flygon to Blackthorn City and be there with lots of time to spare for practice." He stepped forwards, gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then grabbed her by the hand before dragging her towards the building's exit. She didn't resist, not completely aware of what was happening as she tried to sort through the whirlwind of emotions that had assailed her in the last few minutes._

* * *

Hunter J stared disdainfully at the green-haired teenager that lay in her way, fast asleep on the path. She snorted slightly and stepped forwards, bending down next to him. She quickly grabbed a Poke Ball from his belt, giving it a quick sniff. Sensing the aroma of a Roselia, she grimaced and dropped the Ball back next to the sleeper. She repeated her motions, leaving the second Ball when she scented Masquerain and pocketing the third when she realized it was an Absol. 

"This is too easy," she muttered, reaching for the last Ball on his belt. "I don't even need to use Drapion or my Capturer for this." She froze suddenly when she felt the green-haired teenager move under her touch. Her eyes wandered to his face, and met his narrowed gaze.

"And what exactly are you doing?" Drew asked icily. J grinned at him.

"Stealing your Pokemon, what does it look like?" she retorted. Drew turned quickly, drawing back both his legs and arms before shooting them straight into J's chest. She flew backwards, landing hard on the ground. "Why you..." she growled, climbing swiftly to her feet. "Salamence, let's go!" Drew grinned as her massive dragon-type appeared.

"Finally, a real opponent," he said. "Flygon, I choose you!" The two Pokemon hovered in mid-air, sizing each other up as their trainers did likewise.

"Salamence, Dragonbreath!" J shouted.

"Flygon, counter with Flamethrower!" Drew ordered. Green flames collided with red as the two attacks met and exploded in mid-air.

"Even," J growled, contemplating what attack to use next. She glared at Drew, hatred in her eyes when she saw that the stolen Poke Ball was resting at his feet. He noted her gaze and smiled, retrieving it and pocketing the Pokemon.

"Your move," he said.

* * *

"And I thought that Mewtwo had mellowed out after Johto," Brock muttered, sitting in Viridian City Pokemon Centre's bedroom that he and Ash had rented. "I mean, at least his attitude to us was a little warmer after you helped to save him. But now it seems that he's even colder than he was on New Island. I don't get what could have changed." 

"All of those years alone, without any contact with other people or Pokemon I guess," Ash shrugged. "I'm guessing that he kept moving around every couple of days to stay undetected. That doesn't exactly give him a lot of time to make friends, or keep those friends. Mewtwo still cares, all of that isolation has just his personality colder."

"I guess so," Brock sighed. "At least he trusts us enough to not remove our memories of New Island again."

"Have you been able to get in touch with Forrest yet?" Ash asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, he's coming over after he's finished training with Lt. Surge. You know, he's still trying to teach his Raichu those speed attacks that you beat him with. I'm glad that Forrest agreed to help him out with that," Brock answered. He glanced towards the door. "How's May doing?"

"She's still pretty shaken up from meeting Mewtwo. Nurse Joy won't let me in to see her, but at least she keeps on giving me updates."

"I don't understand why she hasn't been taken to a hospital," Brock said, frowning. "I mean, she just collapsed when Mewtwo vanished and she hasn't been properly awake since." Ash grimaced.

"You know how the hospitals work these days," he said. "If there isn't a broken bone or infection they just get a Pokemon to use Heal Bell or Refresh. I just want to know why she collapsed."

"Do you think it has anything to do with that 'dark presence' Mewtwo mentioned?" Brock asked.

"We've both seen 'dark presences' before, Brock," Ash said, shaking his head. "Remember when I was possessed by the King of Pokelantis? I don't know what Mewtwo was talking about, but May definitely doesn't have any 'dark presence'. I think it was something that Mewtwo did to her. But I can't shake the feeling that I've seen her symptoms before."

"Same here," Brock muttered. "I wonder why..."

"I wonder too," Ash said softly, staring out of the window at the bright sun.

* * *

Nurse Joy watched May, worry on her face. Underneath the heavy blanket she continued to shiver, her face pale and sweaty. The thermometer beeped and Nurse Joy quickly took it from May's mouth. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was at 105 degrees. 

"You're burning up," she said softly, wetting a cloth and placing it on her forehead. May moaned at the contact, shifting slightly under the blanket. "I keep calling the hospitals, but no matter what I tell them they keep saying that they won't accept you. I don't know what else I can do; I'm trained to heal Pokemon, not people."

She sighed and sat down in a chair placed close to the head of the bed, watching May carefully. "I've tried everything I know; Refresh, Softboiled, even an Alakazam's Recover. Nothing's worked, and if the fever doesn't break soon..." She bent her head, tears leaking to the ground. She had never felt so helpless before. "All I can do is try to make you as comfortable as possible if worst comes to worst."

At the far side of the room, completely escaping the notice of the distraught Nurse Joy, something in May's discarded travel pack began to glow...

* * *

**As ever, please review. It's only because of the recent spurt of reviews that I've realized the trap I fell into. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, my first of 2008 (and probably the last for quite a while, thanks to exams in January).**


	27. Disease

**Umm... Wow. This is a little strange, isn't? The last time that I updated this story was New Years Day. Now it's Valentines Day, and this short chapter is all that I have to put up. Still, I'm trying to make up for the delay by doing a mammoth update in the next couple of days. At least, I hope that it makes up for it...**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_Rey stood stiffly in the trainer's box, her hand clenched so tightly that even her short fingernails drew blood. Her jaw worked vigorously as she tried to figure a way out of the situation. Her Rattata kept dodging the Venomoth's attacks, but it was moving more and more slowly. Across the battlefield, Koga watched her impassively._

_"Venomoth, enough," he said abruptly. The Pokemon ceased it's attack and turned to it's trainer expectantly. "Let's go," he said, motioning towards the trick wall._

_"Hey... wait a minute! We didn't finish our battle!" Rey protested. Koga stopped, but did not bother to face her._

_"This is a four-on-four battle. You are on your third Pokemon, and my first has not been touched by any of your attacks. Now, you are not even issuing any attacks. Your skills don't measure up to the standards of this Pokemon Gym. Our battle is over."_

_"You can't do that!" Rey shouted. "How can the battle be over? I haven't won or lost!"_

_"It isn't victory that gives a person the right to a badge," Koga stated. "A Gym Leader has the right to refuse to issue a badge if the victor's skills are not up to a certain standard. A win is just that; a win. The challenger has to demonstrate their abilities to be worthy of badge. You have only demonstrated incompetence."_

_"That's not true!" Rey shouted, beginning to break down into tears. "I've won five badges!"_

_"I hope that count does not include the Cascade Badge," Koga said icily. "A Gym Badge demonstrates the skill of the bearer. There is no skill in just having the badge given away."_

_"They said that all of their Pokemon were being treated at the Pokemon Center!"_

_"Yet they were able to use those same Pokemon in a performance only a few hours later?" Koga turned and looked at the tearstained face of the girl. "You are not ready to face me," he said softly. "Go away, train hard, and try again another time." He sighed and shook his head. "I expected better from a Pallet trainer," he murmured, walking through the trick wall._

_Rey stood, staring at the wall. "Rattata, return," she whispered, as she turned and slowly trudged out of the Gym. Her head bowed in sadness, she looked back at the Fuchsia Gym despondently, at the four walls that had for so long held her dreams of the future. Now, they held only despair. She choked back a sob and ran into the nearby Fuchsia Forest, trying to put as much distance in between her and Koga as was possible._

_Branches tore at her face, slapping her cheeks with harsh stinging blows as she pushed her way through them. She breathed harshly through her mouth, her muscles screaming at her to stop and her brain ignoring them. At last she tripped, her feet caught underneath a large root that lay hidden in her path. Halted at last, she finally gave in to her emotions, her chest heaving spasmodically._

_She lay there for a long time, accompanied only by the fat tears that dripped slowly onto the bracken below._

* * *

The glow from May's pack vanished, completely unnoticed by the distraught Nurse Joy; her hands trembled as the thermometer beeped, indicating that May's body temperature had gone up yet another degree. The sick trainer from Hoenn moaned again, her body shuddering more and more uncontrollably. A small amount of froth began to collect at her mouth, which Nurse Joy tried to wipe away. The soft cloth touched her lips, and May suddenly jerked forwards, her jaws snapping shut on the place where Nurse Joy's wrist had been only moments earlier. She yelped in surprise and jumped backwards. 

"What was that for?" she yelled. May simply moaned and collapsed backwards again, shivering and unconscious. Nurse Joy sighed and, keeping a wary eye on May's movements, straightened the blankets. The thermometer beeped again, and Nurse Joy groaned. Her temperature was now 107 degrees, and quickly reaching the body's mortal limit.

"There's nothing left that I can do," she whispered. "The fever just won't go down. I have to let your friends know what's happening. They need to be here to... to say goodbye." Tears began to prickle in her eyes, and she wiped them away quickly.

She stood and went to the door, taking one last look at the dying girl in front of her. She frowned as she saw, for the first time, a lump on May's chest. She went back to the bed quickly, lifting up May's sickbay gown to see what it was. Her eyes widened when she saw that a lumpy grey-green pustule had formed on one of May's breasts.

She carefully reached out and touched it lightly with one finger. May let out a high-pitched scream and began thrashing on the bed. Nurse Joy drew back her finger quickly with a squeal of surprised pain. She instinctively wanted to place the finger in her mouth, but common sense warned her against it. She examined her finger and was surprised to see that it had been burned. As the thermometer beeped again, May collapsed once more, drenched in soaking sheets of sweat. Nurse Joy leant in cautiously for a closer look at the throbbing pustule on her chest.

"What on Earth could that be?" she murmured. She was so engrossed in her examination that she saw never saw May's pack begin to move. Slowly, quietly, the zipper began to open...

* * *

Ash glared out the window, his gaze burning across the landscape. Behind him, Brock and Forrest chatted quietly, both realizing that Ash, through his worry for May, had turned into a raw nerve. The sun was slowly crawling down towards the horizon. As the shadows lengthened, Ash's eyes began to burn more and more fiercely. 

"I know that I've seen it before," he muttered. "But what? And where? She just collapsed and began to tremble..." Brock looked over at his younger brother and nodded. He walked over to Ash and laid a hand on Ash's shoulder. As he had expected, the trainer jumped.

"Come on Ash, you need to rest. Your eyes are exhausted, and you must be hungry," Brock said. Ash shook his head.

"Do you think I could eat or sleep knowing how sick May is?" he asked.

"It's shock from Mewtwo, Ash," Brock said. "I'm sure of it."

"Well, I'm not!" Ash scowled. "I know that I've seen this before, and I know that's it's a lot more serious than shock, or a cold, or..." He trailed off, his jaw slowly opening. Brock and Forrest looked at each other in concern, but Ash didn't notice. His thoughts whirled as he thought again of May's symptoms and connected them inexplicitly with the image of a deranged Rayquaza firing a Hyper Beam towards a Safeguarded Latias.

"It can't be...!" he breathed, jumping to his feet in anguish.

"Can't be what?" Forrest asked. Ash ignored the question and began to pace instead.

"It's impossible... But it's the only thing that fits. I have to go and check..." He looked up, his eyes clear and focused. "Forrest," he said, turning to the Pewter City Gym Leader, "you get Dawn and Rey and keep them away from the emergency room!"

"Why?" he asked, completely perplexed.

"Just do it!" Ash shouted, running out the door. Forrest looked at his older brother, who sighed and began to follow Ash.

"I'll go after him," he said. "You go tell the girls." With another sigh, Brock left the room and followed after Ash.

The trainer from Pallet ran on through the Pokemon Center, oblivious that both Brock and Pikachu were hot on his heels. Only one thought was on his mind as he hurtled towards the emergency room, towards the dying girl that he loved.

_I know what's wrong... I know what's wrong... I can save her..._

* * *

**Yeah, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. Maybe it's because I'm so rusty, but it just doesn't seem as good to me as most of the others do. Ah well, no point brooding on it. Why not tell me what _you_ think in a review?**


	28. Farewell?

**Welcome back after almost another month of no updates! I am very sorry for the delay; I'd hoped to have this up weeks ago, but I've been busy with a new second job and for personal reasons. I hope that you're all remembering the many intricacies of the plot better than I am!**

* * *

Max stood at the summit of one the foothills of Mount Silver. He stood almost perfectly still, his only movement the flickering of his eyes as he scanned the sky. A look of anxiety creased his face as the day dragged on, and the brilliant blue of the sky began to fade to a dusty blue. He was waiting for an old friend, a friend that was already several hours late. 

"It can't be lost," he muttered, biting his lip in worry. "This is where we met last time, and it's internal compass never lets it forget where a place is." His hand loosely fingered the five Poke Balls that lay attached to his belt; the usual sixth now safely back at Professor Birch's lab, courtesy of the nearest Pokemon Centre.

"Claydol, I need you!" he called, grabbing one of the Poke Balls and tossing it high into the air.

"Nyen," it hummed, revolving slowly in the air as it descended to within a few inches of the ground.

"Deoxys is late. We were supposed to meet here at noon, but the sun is setting now. I need you to use your Psychic to try and see if there are any Pokemon in the sky nearby that I can't see. Can you do that for me?"

"Nyenn," his Claydol nodded, closing it's multiple eyes. Max watched, fascinated, as the air around his Pokemon began to glow a bright blue. Humming, the Claydol began to spin, slowly at first but picking up more and more speed with each revolution. It began to levitate higher off the ground, glowing tendrils from the Psychic spurting off in all directions as the Pokemon spun at a rapid rate. And then the revolutions began to slow, the blue aura dissipated, and his Claydol dropped back to Earth.

"Anything?" Max asked anxiously.

"Nyen," Claydol nodded, pointing an arm and slowly turning in the direction of Mount Silver. Max looked with narrowed eyes towards the mountain. A small, dark shape slowly became discernible as it appeared from behind one of Mount Silver's rocky slopes. Max breathed a sigh of relief, but the sigh was quickly cut short when a second shape appeared from behind it. A faint roar came to his ears, and he cringed unwillingly from it's sound. The two shapes circled around each other, passing in front of the dying sun. He squinted his eyes and was able to make out the sight of two tiny pricks of light, one red and the other green, colliding with each other.

"What on earth is that?" he muttered.

* * *

Drew grinned, holding on tightly to his Flygon with his knees. It rolled in mid-air to avoid a Dragonbreath from J's Salamence, and then flipped over backwards to dodge a powerful Dragon Claw. J cursed inwardly as the larger but more manoeuvrable Flygon avoided every attack thrown it's way. 

"Fall back and use Dragonbreath!" she yelled, leaning along her Salamence's neck to make sure it heard her.

"Climb and counter it with a Flamethrower!" Drew shouted. He gripped more tightly as his Flygon soared upwards, twisted around, and shot straight back downwards, intense flames spewing from it's mouth.

J's Salamence let out a blood-curdling roar that halted Flygon in it's tracks. It charged up towards it's opponent, scarcely noticing the force of the Flamethrower as it charged through the heart of the attack. Drew gaped in surprise as the dragon-type burst out of the Flamethrower, dispelling the flames entirely. At full-speed, it smashed itself into the lower-jaw of Drew's Flygon, sending it reeling backwards in pain. Stunned and disorientated, the Flygon didn't realize when J's Salamence got above it.

A devastating Dragon Claw crashed down onto the top of Flygon's head, causing it to let out a shriek of pain. The Salamence quickly followed up by spinning, and mercilessly smashing it's thick tail against Flygon's neck, knocking it unconscious and flipping the Pokemon upside-down. At the sudden, violent twisting apart of the world, Drew lost his grip. With a scream of fear, he plummeted towards the foothills that stretched out far below..

* * *

May moaned as her temperature rose even higher, now at 109 degrees. Nurse Joy looked through her medical equipment frantically, knowing that if it rose just two more degrees, May would die. She grabbed the instruments she would need and darted back to May's side. 

The door to the emergency room smashed open and Ash, Brock and Pikachu burst into the room, all three panting heavily. Nurse Joy shrieked with fright at the sudden intrusion, dropping her instruments on the floor in the process.

"Nurse Jo-"

"There's no time for this now, Brock!" she screamed, forestalling the love struck breeder. "If I don't get this lump on her chest removed, she'll die!" Ash stopped cold at the sight.

"I knew it," he muttered.

"Knew what?" Joy shouted, stooping to pick up her equipment with fumbling fingers. Ash hesitated a minute, trying to think of how to say what needed to be said.

"We know that it's impossible for the disease to be transmitted between Pokemon and humans, but Ash thinks that May has somehow been infected with the Pokerus," Brock said baldly. Nurse Joy stared at them both, her mind racing.

"I have a Pokemon that was infected with the Pokerus before," Ash added. "It had the exact same symptoms, and it had the same growth that may does too." Nurse Joy made a snap decision.

"Brock, there's a videophone in the corner. I know almost nothing about Pokerus, but there is one person who knows a hell of a lot. Call Professor Oak. His number is -"

"Professor Oak's lab was destroyed," Ash interrupted. "He's staying at my Mom's house until it's rebuilt. You should try there instead."

"Got it," Brock nodded, running over to the corner. Nurse Joy turned back to May, a scalpel clenched tightly in her hands.

"Ash I need you to hold her steady. I tried to touch the growth before and she attacked me," she said as she lowered the instrument to within an inch of the pustule.

"Delia, we need to talk to Professor Oak right away. It's an emergency; is he there?" Ash heard Brock say as he strode quickly up to the bed, trying to avoid looking at the growth for reasons of modesty. Nurse Joy took a deep breath, moved the scalpel in close and dropped it with a shriek of surprise as the thermometer beeped once again. The instrument fell onto the growth, and with a yowl of pain May lunged forwards, her eyes staring madly as her hands closed around Joy's throat.

* * *

Forrest knocked nervously on what he hoped was Dawn's and Rey's bedroom door, hearing the chatter within cease abruptly. He had never been very good when it came to dealing with girls, especially the pretty ones. His training with Lt. Surge had been more of a joint deal than anything else. He was going to help Surge with speed attacks, while Surge helped him cope with girls. He hoped that Surge's coaching would pay off now. 

"Who is it?" he heard a clear voice call, and his knees trembled slightly. This was definitely a girls room.

"Umm, my name is Forrest. I'm Brock's brother." There was a pause and then he heard footsteps approach the door. Nervously, he stood up as straight as he could as the door opened. His knees melted away as he found himself staring into two of the most beautiful blue eyes that he had ever seen.

"Yes?" Dawn asked him quizzically.

"I... my... ahh..."

"Oh, wonderful," a second voice said from behind Dawn sarcastically. "He's as lovestruck as his brother."

"Rey!" Dawn shouted, looking back over her shoulder at her roommate, her cheeks turning crimson. She turned back to Forrest and her eyes softened as she saw how nervous he was. "What's the matter, Forrest? Where are Brock and Ash?" At the sound of Ash's name, something in Forrest's brain clunked into place.

"Oh, uh, Ash wanted me to keep you two away from the emergency room because of how bad May is." Dawn stared at him for a moment, and then Rey shoved her way into the doorway. Forrest gasped, almost falling over at the sight of her sparkling emerald eyes and luxurious long brown hair.

"Well, that was a pretty stupid thing to say," she said sarcastically as she forced her way past Forrest into the hallway. "If you tell us not to go somewhere, we're obviously going to anyways." Forrest stared after her, his brain not really working.

"She has a point, you know," Dawn said kindly as she squeezed past and walked down the hallway too. Forrest watched them both walk towards the emergency room, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I guess Lt. Surge still needs to teach me a bit more," he mused, before the reality of what had just happened sank in. "Hey, wait!" he yelped after them, only to realize that they had turned a corner and vanished.

"I guess I should have tried to keep them away by not mentioning it at all," he muttered, starting off after them.

* * *

The next few moments were a blur of confusion for Ash. The thermometer beeped, Nurse Joy yelped, and May leapt forwards, trying to strangle her. There was a lot of yelling coming from the direction of Brock and the videophone, and then the breeder ran forwards, trying to prise her May's hands away from Nurse Joy's neck. May backhanded him in the gut with one arm, doubling him over onto the floor with pain. 

As he reached over May's shoulders with both arms, the door burst open and Dawn, Rey and Forrest fell into the room, skidding to a halt as they saw what was happening. Dawn screamed at the sight of May strangling the Pokemon Nurse, and May recoiled at the sound, letting go of Nurse Joy as she clamped her hands to her ears. At the foot of the videophone, May's pack burst into flames, unobserved by all but one. _"What's happening?"_ Professor Oak shouted from the videophone, unable to see anything that was happening from the smoke.

Ash wrapped his arms tightly against May, trying to prevent her from harming anyone else in her incapacitated state. May let out a high-pitched scream of fright and turned, trying to claw her attacker. Unfocused blue eyes met worried black eyes that were filled with worry, concern, and love. Ash continued to hold onto her protectively, never once blinking or looking away from the Coordinator. Slowly, miraculously, she relaxed, her arms snaking around him in turn and her head gently coming to rest on his chest.

As Nurse Joy climbed unsteadily to her feet, Ash held May tightly. He could feel her fever even through his shirt, and tears began to cloud his eyes. The thermometer beeped one final time, and May's sapphire eyes turned glassy, the last sparkle slowly fading. Her tight grip on Ash turned limp, and her breathing steadily slowed until it halted altogether.

"Ash..." she whispered.

Tears began to stream down his face as the girl whom he loved moved no more, her light frame resting on his. His body shook and convulsed as he fought back the sadness, staring into two sapphire eyes that had always seemed to be full of joy, to be full of life. He slowly lifted off his necklace, half-a-ribbon dangling from the end. Tenderly, he put it around May's neck before kissing her gently on the forehead.

"May..." he said softly. "I... I'm sorry..."

* * *

**Please review.**


	29. Egg

**Well, these next two chapters are, quite possibly, the two most important to date. I've introduced so many different plot elements and it's time some of them were wrapped up. There's lots going on, and we'll find out the answers to some of the oft-repeated questions.**

**I'd intended to make this a double-update and have it up... two days ago, actually. Well, that didn't happen so you'll have to settle with a single-update for now! **

**Before we get into this chapter, I just want to thank everyone who nominated my work in the 07-08 SPPf Shipping Oscars. _Final Challenge_ was nominated for** Most Dramatic Shipping Plot**, _Searching for Truth_ for** Best Pearlshipping**, _Raikou's Test_ and _Emotions_ for** Best Other Pokemon Shipping one-shot**, and you nominated me for** Best Pearlshipping Author**,** Best Other Pokemon Shipping Author**,** Best First Time Shipping Author**, and** Most Daring Shipping Author**. It means a lot to me to have my work thought so highly of, and I want to thank everyone who nominated me for the awards.**

**Now, on to the chapter!**

**By the way, did you know there are only 7 reviews to go until #200?**

* * *

Tracey stretched his back, groaning as he felt the stiffness. Still, as he worked his shoulders in an attempt to relieve a knotted muscle, he had to admit that the strain and back pain was definitely worth it. Rebuilding the lab would take time, but it was going much more quickly than any of them had anticipated.

_We were very lucky_, he reflected. The Rayquaza had destroyed most of the lab, but the foundations weren't damaged. That alone had saved them a month's work. Professor Oak had also been very cautious when he had originally built the lab. The basement, where he kept his research and backed-up computer data, had been reinforced by two-inch steel walls during it's construction. It meant that months, years of research was safe from harm. It meant that all of the decades Professor Oak had put into studying his unpublished data, and that the millions of yen he had spent on ancient Pokemon artefacts was not a waste.

Tracey turned and surveyed the land. In just a few days they had already finished reconstructing the skeleton of the lab, and they would soon be able to start on the more solid constructions. The extra hands they had to use was a huge bonus. Caroline had returned to Hoenn, but Norman had volunteered to stay and help rebuild. Gary had decided to postpone returning to Sinnoh, and Rey's parents had also volunteered their help. Even Delia was chipping in, in her own way of course. Each night the workers would troop down to the Ketchum residence and be greeted by a massive spread. It was the perfect way to relax and unwind after a long and hard day of work.

He had to admit, though, that as welcome as all the unexpected help was, the biggest factor had been Ash's 29 Tauros. Usually, they were filled with energy and rampaged around the lab's grounds completely carefree. Now they were, well, filled with energy, and their strength and eagerness to help was the main reason why the skeleton had been erected so quickly. Lots of other Pokemon, including Gary's Blastoise, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen, as well as Norman's Vigoroth and Slaking, had also been a huge help, but there was no doubt that it was because of Ash's Tauros that the first stage of work had been completed so quickly.

"Hey," a voice called out from behind him. Turning, Tracey was surprised to see that only a few feet away, a dark-haired young man stood casually with his hands in his pockets, an expression of polite interest on his face.

_Wow, he's quiet. How'd he manage to get so close without me hearing him?_ he wondered. "Hey there," he said aloud with a friendly grin to the man. "Come to help with the rebuilding? You're a bit late for today's work, everybody's just finishing up. Want to join us for supper? We'll be heading down the hill in a mi-"

"Thank you, but no," the stranger interrupted. "I'm not here to help rebuild. I'm looking for Professor Oak." Tracey frowned.

"You do know that we're in the middle of a huge reconstruction, don't you? The Professor really doesn't have any time to spare for journalists, or to answer any trivial questions." The stranger's eyes gleamed curiously.

"I'm well aware that you're in the middle of rebuilding the lab," he said softly. "I'd have to be blind - and deaf - not to have realized it by now. As for my question…" He smiled slightly, and a sudden shiver ran down Tracey's spine. "I can assure you that it is a matter of vital importance."

Tracey eyed him. "The Professor left for a phone call about half an hour ago," he said. "He's taking it at the Ketchum's house. Go down the hill towards Pallet Town and turn right. It's the third house on the left. There may be a Mr. Mime sweeping or gardening outside." Without a word, the stranger nodded, turned, and left. Tracey watched him go, apprehension flittering around his gut. Danger hung around this person. He could see it as clearly as a Lucario could aura. He could feel it. Something bad was about to happen. And if it did, the Professor was much better equipped to handle the situation than he was.

* * *

"Kurt!" Professor Oak exclaimed, his eyes racing across the screen; he could hardly believe what he was seeing. "What… what _happened_ to you?"

"I was attacked," Kurt answered quietly. "Somebody stormed into my workshop, stole my last Apricorn Ball, and paralysed me."

"Kurt, you need to see a doctor right away," Oak said, eyeing the injuries on Kurt's face and arms.

"It's not important," Kurt said roughly. He fixed the Professor with a watering, aggrieved eye. "Professor. Sam. He wanted the GS Ball." Professor Oak went cold.

"Did… did he get it?" he whispered, almost afraid to ask. Kurt hesitated before answering.

"No," he said finally. "But he knows that you have it, Sam. I'm sure he's travelling to Pallet as we speak." Professor Oak paused.

"What do you mean 'he knows that I have it'?" he asked. "I thought you still had it."

"I gave it to that girl with the Pidgeot, like you asked," Kurt answered. "What was her name… May. Didn't she give it to you when she arrived in Pallet?"

"No," Professor Oak said in a strangled voice. "She arrived the morning of Ash's match, and then what with the Rayquaza attack… I'd almost forgotten about it until now."

"Then you're both in danger!" Kurt shouted. "He'll get to Pallet and search you out, and when he finds out that you don't have it he'll start to track her down too!"

"May is travelling with Ash at the moment; she'll be safe enough with him," Professor Oak said slowly.

"And what about you, Sam?" Kurt asked. "This guy is ruthless. Once he found out I didn't have the GS Ball anymore, he used his Pokemon to knock me out. He won't be afraid to do the same, or worse, to you." At this Oak grinned, and there was no fear in his gaze.

"I don't like his chances, facing off against me, Gary, and Norman," he said with a hint of steel in his voice. "Now tell me: what did he look like, and what Pokemon did he have?"

* * *

Immediately after his video call with Kurt, Oak dialled up Professors Elm, Birch, Ivy, Rowan, and Aspen to see if any trainer had recently exchanged their Magnezone for a held Pokemon. After hearing a chorus of "no's", and gaining their assurances that they would contact him straight away if any such exchange was made, he slumped at the table feeling mentally exhausted.

"Dinner will be ready in a moment, Professor," Delia whispered as she passed by him, a massive salad in her arms. That'll wake you up a bit."

"I really hope so, Delia," he sighed, rubbing his eyes. "There's just so much going on; I feel as if my mind is about to explode."

"Oh, it'll sort itself out soon enough," she smiled. "Then you'll wonder what there was to be so stressed about." He nodded absentmindedly as she bustled back off to the kitchen, his mind filled with worry. He was jerked out of his stupor by the sound of the phone ringing. It stopped abruptly on the third ring and he heard Delia's voice.

"Oh hi, Brock. How are you all? Where are you calling from?"

"Delia, we need to talk to Professor Oak right away. It's an emergency; is he there?" Brock asked, ignoring her questions. A sudden flitter of apprehension ran through Oak's body. He stood quickly and made his way to the videophone as Delia turned towards him.

"What's the problem, Brock?" he asked as soon as he reached the monitor.

"May's ill," Brock said. "There's a pustule on her chest, and Nurse Joy needs you to help guide her through the operation. We think it might be -" Professor Oak stared over Brock's shoulder at the scene playing out in front of him, oblivious to the tail-end of Brock's sentence.

With an inhuman screech, May lunged from the hospital bed and fastened her hands around Joy's throat. There was a moment of surprised thrashing, somebody off screen screamed, and then a burst of acrid, black smoke drifted upwards, completely obscuring the screen.

"_What's happening_?" he yelled. But there was no response, save for a scream.

* * *

The rushing noise of the wind blowing past his body stopped. _This is it_, he thought calmly. _I'm dead. I can't hear or see anything. The world is black. It's just me and my thoughts. Alone, forever_. Something suddenly tickled his nose. Grimacing in irritation, he tried to brush it away but found his arms were unresponsive. _Strange_, he thought. _Why would my nose itch if I were dead?_ Drew opened his eyes.

The ground hovered in front of him, mere inches from his nose. A stalk of grass was rubbing against his nose, quivering from a very slight breeze. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly before opening them again. The ground was still there. _But why am I floating?_ he wondered. _I fell thousands of feet. Why aren't I dead?_ That was when he noticed his vision was tinted violet.

_It's a Psychic_, he realized. _Somebody stopped my fall using Psychic_.

"So, it's you," he heard a familiar voice say. Then came a snort. "I wouldn't have stopped you if I'd known who you were." The purple haze in front of his eyes vanished, and he dropped. Grimacing and rubbing his nose, he twisted his neck and saw a person whom he had sincerely hoped he would never have to see again.

"Max," he said with a curt nod, scrambling to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his Flygon held in place a foot or so above the ground, contained in another Psychic. It was still unconscious. He turned his gaze back to Max and immediately recognized the two Pokemon he had called out; Claydol, levitating in slow circles around it's trainer, and Gardevoir, her body glowing violet and her eyes closed as she concentrated on keeping Flygon in the air.

"Think you can let my Flygon go now?" Drew asked the younger trainer. Max shook his head, an ugly look on his face.

"No. Not until you explain to me exactly why you did it."

"Did what?" Drew asked, playing dumb. Max's expression got even uglier.

"You know exactly what," he hissed from between clenched teeth. "You betrayed my sister. You broke her heart and chased her out of Johto. I want to know why, and I want to know now!" Drew shook his head scornfully.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," he said. "Wait until you grow some stubble on your chin before you even think of having the audacity to interrogate me." He grabbed Flygon's Poke Ball and withdrew his Pokemon, the red beam easily piercing through Gardevoir's Psychic. "I'm out of here," he sneered, flicking his hair out of his eyes as he turned to walk away.

His body froze and his mouth opened in a soundless scream as his entire body was assailed by a fierce burning sensation. His vision turned purple again, although this time it was a darker, more menacing shade. Slowly, against his will, his body turned until he was facing Max once more.

The young trainer ignored Drew and crouched to the ground, watching at his Gardevoir with an expression of slight interest as she held the Coordinator in place.

"Being a Gym Leader's son, I'm privy to some information that you would never find in any textbooks or PokeDex's," he said softly. "For example, did you know that there are actually three variations of the move Psychic? Every trainer knows about Stage-2 - that's the kind used in battle to halt and damage an opponent. You're experiencing it right now. Most trainers know about Stage-1 too, the painless variation that can be used to get fruit from a tall tree… or stop somebody from falling. But almost nobody knows about Stage-3." Here he rose and turned his attention back to Drew, who tried not to wince as the pain wracked his body spasmodically.

"Stage-3 Psychic is a blast of intense pain. It generally takes years of dedication and practice before a Pokemon can use it effectively. Even those who do know about it rarely try and teach it to their Pokemon; it just takes too long for them. But if a Pokemon does learn how to use it…" He paused. "It's strength is equal to that of a Legendary Pokemon's Stage-2 Psychic. It even affects dark-types." He looked for a moment at the setting sun before returning his focus to the helpless Coordinator.

"So tell me, Drew," he said. "Are you prepared to experience Gardevoir's Stage-3 Psychic?"

* * *

Ash hugged the limp body of the Coordinator to his chest fiercely, hot tears cascading from his eyes. He was oblivious to the movements and words of his companions, his gaze fixed on the girl he had loved; the girl he loved still, even in death. Oblivious to the heat of the fever that still burned through her clothes, he rocked gently back and forth, unable to accept the fact that she was really gone.

Something clunked gently against his foot. Surprised, he automatically reached down and picked the object up, staring at it uncomprehendingly. He didn't understand why this, of all things, would be here in a Pokemon Centre.

"Char!"

Everyone started at the sound, and as one their eyes sought the source. Standing in the shredded and charred remains of May's knapsack was a small Charmander. It ignored them all, it's gaze fixed sorrowfully on the prone body of May as it moved towards her on somewhat unsteady legs.

"A Charmander?" Rey asked. "Why did May have a Charmander in her bag?"

"Liza gave me an egg that Charla - Charizard's mate - had laid before I battled Cynthia," Ash said softly. "I gave it to May just before we left Pallet Town. I… I guess it must have just hatched."

"Char!" the little Charmander squealed, trying to scrabble it's way onto the bed. Dawn came forwards and gently lifted the newborn onto Ash's lap. The Pokemon hummed, curled itself up comfortably, and reached out to touch May's body with it's snout.

A blinding orange glow cascaded through the room, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. The light was almost unbearable, amplified by the whitewashed walls and colouring every inch of the room in an orange tint. Rising high above the shouts of shock was the sound of the Charmander humming, a long, loud drone that reverberated throughout the room, it's body the source of the light. Slowly, the intensity of the glow faded, although the people and walls were still painted in an orange light.

"No… It's impossible!" Professor Oak shouted from the screen as the light became bearable and he beheld the Charmander. "I-It's _impossible!_"

"What's impossible?" Rey yelled above the humming.

"What the Charmander is doing!" Brock shouted.

"I don't get it!" she screamed as the Charmander's humming stopped. "There, that's better," she sighed. "Why is what the Charmander doing impossible?"

"There are three criteria for a species of Pokemon to be selected as a starter-type in a region," Professor Oak explained. "It has to be a grass-, water-, or fire-type, have two evolutions, and have one of three abilities. For a fire-type, that ability is always Blaze. But what this Charmander is doing now is not Blaze," he said, gesturing at the still-glowing Pokemon.

"What is it doing then?" Dawn asked.

"It's Flash-Fire," Brock answered.

"Yes, Flash-Fire," Professor Oak agreed. "When a Pokemon has the Flash-Fire ability, it absorbs any fire-type attacks that are targeted at it to power up it's own moves. To be more precise, it absorbs the heat of the fire and makes it's own moves hotter. Because the heat is absorbed, it makes the actual fire-attack useless. A flame with no heat has no power; it's the heat that does the damage in an attack, not the actual flames themselves.

"When a Pokemon has used Flash-Fire, the power of it's attacks will remain the same, but the intensity is increased. And because it's the heat from the fire, and not the fire itself, which activates the ability, Flash-Fire can occasionally be activated without needing a fire-type attack," he concluded. Realization dawned on Rey's and Dawn's faces.

"So… you mean that this Charmander is trying to use Flash-Fire to absorb the heat from May's fever and bring down her temperature?" Rey asked in disbelief.

"Exactly," Professor Oak confirmed. Then his face fell as he looked back at May's body, still held in Ash's arms. Ash himself was still staring at the Charmander with a look of pure astonishment on his face, not having heard a word that the Professor had said.

"But I'm afraid it may be too late," Oak said softly. And that was when they heard a sound that gave them all hope.

_Beep…_

_Beep…_


	30. Hostage

**This is my longest chapter yet, and it was going to be even longer still. But you know, it's a month overdue and I figured that to make it any longer might kill some of the moments in this. So, here is Chapter 30: Hostage (at long last). I'll try to start updating more than once a month from now on **

* * *

Giovanni watched, impassive, from behind foot-thick walls and glass as twenty men struggled to carry a massive cage - and the legendary Pokemon within - through the blast doors leading from Namba's lab. It's long, sinuous neck darted in every direction as it let loose a screech of rage, jabbing its beak at the men that transported it. The pecks collided against the bars with an incredible force, sending sparks cascading downwards.

"You did very well," Giovanni said softly as two figures, both almost as tall as he was, approached from the dark recess by the door.

"Thank you, Boss," said the first, a broad-shouldered man with spiked yellow hair that was swept over to one side.

"First the Rayquaza, and now Moltres," Giovanni continued. "Every Pokemon you capture is one less Pokemon that I have to pay Hunter J for. And by capturing the Moltres you've already done more than those idiots Cassidy and Butch could hope to accomplish."

The second, lither man nodded, his long steel-grey hair shining slightly in the dim light of the room. "I will admit that the Moltres caused us some trouble, but not as much as we had feared." He paused for a moment. "With the modifications made by Professor Sebastian to the Miracle Crystal, we can use it to attract any Pokemon, not just electric-types. It worked well with Moltres, and if two or three more could be constructed…"

"We could get the last legendaries much more quickly," his partner interjected. Giovanni bristled and turned to face them.

"Do you have any idea what it would cost to make more Miracle Crystals?" he demanded. "The prototype - which was destroyed when you attempted to capture Raikou - was a small fortune, and the one you used to capture Moltres cost twice as much!"

"It's not really my place to say," the smaller man said carefully, "but, knowing the cost of both a Miracle Crystal and of Hunter J's service, it would seem to me that a small fortune could be saved by building, using, and reusing the Crystal's, rather than relying on Hunter J's service for each individual Pokemon capture."

Giovanni frowned, deep in thought. "Buson, get Professor Sebastian," he ordered the first man. Nodding, Buson turned and quickly left the room. "How many Pokemon can be contained within a Miracle Crystal, Bashou?" he asked the second man. Bashou opened his mouth to respond, but was forestalled by an almighty crash and unearthly scream from the room beyond the thick walls and window. Giovanni whirled and was, for once, rendered speechless.

A cage, supported by 40 grunts and containing a Heatran, was passing by the Moltres cage as it was taken to Namba's lab and the Moltres was returned to the storing hold. One of the men had abruptly let go of the cage and fallen, tripping up three other carriers as he went down. With the support of four men missing, the strain of the cage and the heavy Pokemon within became too much for the others. As they shouted warnings to each other, the imbalanced cage began to slope at a dangerous angle. Those closest to the imbalance began to panic as the weight became too much for their shoulders to bear and, fearing they would be crushed, jumped to safety.

The Heatran cage tipped, the corner becoming lodged within the bars of the Moltres's cage. For a moment, all seemed frozen as the Moltres and the Heatran stared at each other, separated by mere inches of steel and air. With a shriek, the Moltres began to glow orange, reared back its neck, and shot forth a sizzling burst of the most powerful and intense flames that had ever been seen.

The steel bars had been specially crafted to resist any impact, temperature, or Pokemon attack. It was no match for the raw power of an enraged legendary Pokemon.

The flames disintegrated the cage bars easily. All of the grunts ran for cover from the intensity of the attack, and the heat could be felt even through the foot-thick and reinforced glass that protected Giovanni and Bashou. With a guttural roar the Heatran charged towards the legendary bird, its head glowing silver, seemingly unharmed by the attack. The Moltres flapped its wings to gain what little air room it could, and shot forwards towards its opponent in a blazing orange blur. The Heatran stumbled and collapsed with a grunt of pain as the Sky Attack hit its mark.

Moltres screeched at the collision with Heatran's heavy armoured head, bouncing away almost comically. It quickly corrected its balance and wheeled around to face the Heatran. The injured Pokemon twisted its head and shot forth a powerful burst of flames at the flying-type. Moltres reacted in kind, its attack easily disrupting Heatran's flames and powering through to completely envelop the weakened Pokemon. Ordinarily, Heatran would not have been affected by any type of fire, even those from another legendary. But the Moltres had been infected with Namba's mutant virus, the Perporus, powering it up to unnatural levels. What's more, the sheer force of the Sky Attack had actually caused a small crack on the steel helmet of the Heatran. Flash-Fire was no protection against this.

"Get armed grunts in there now!" Giovanni ordered through an intercom. "Take down that Moltres immediately!" One man, sensing the chance of promotion, leaped out from behind a stack of crates and threw the first thing that came to hand into the remnants of the cage; a wrench. It clunked against the Moltres's back, serving only to irritate the legendary Pokemon further before it was incinerated by the sizzling heat of its body. The Moltres wheeled angrily and unleashed a blistering fire attack. The man had time only for one quick, agonized scream before his body and life was consumed by the flames.

Bashou turned, covering his mouth at the sight of the man's blackened corpse smouldering. Not even Giovanni was immune from a fleeting urge to vomit. Several more grunts dashed into the room, followed by a horde of Blastoise, Vaporeon, Swampert, Pelipper, Poliwrath and Feraligatr. They stopped short at the sight of the dead man's smoking body and then bravely began to inch their way around the room, trying to surround the Moltres.

"Everyone in position?" one man yelled. "Hydro Pumps and Hydro Cannons on the count of three; one… two… three!" Numerous powerful jets of water blasted across the room, each one aimed directly at the Moltres. The Moltres let out a screech and began to glow a deep red. Giovanni watched, a grim smile on his face as each water attack impacted the legendary Pokemon, immediately covering the room in thick, billowing steam. Not even a Moltres could stand against this.

"Well Bashou, it would appear that we shall need another Moltres," Giovanni said, turning to face him. Bashou did not answer, his gaze riveted on the window over Giovanni's shoulder, his mouth slightly gape. Frowning, Giovanni turned his gaze back to the holding room, noticing that it was still swathed in steam. A faint orange pinprick of light was visible in the centre of the room. It quickly grew much larger and brighter. "No… It's impossible!" he breathed, rooted to the spot.

For the remainder of his life, Bashou would be unable to explain where the sudden surge of energy came from. Snapping out of his astonishment, he realized that the approaching light would mean both their deaths if they stayed watching. Neither could they run out the door. That left only one option.

Grabbing Giovanni by the back of the neck, he somehow managed to force his superior's considerable frame to the ground. Seconds later, the light resolved into an immensely powerful Flamethrower that easily blasted its way through the reinforced glass. Giovanni instinctively covered his eyes, and when he dared remove his arm he found himself staring into face of Moltres. The Pokémon's eyes were tinged with hatred, insanity, and something altogether more human than he had suspected. For the first time in his life, he felt a gut-wrenching, tingling sensation that he realized must be fear. The Moltres opened its mouth and Giovanni lay there, frozen, the realization that his life was about to end blocking out all other fault.

And then, inexplicably, the Moltres hesitated. It let out a screech that reverberated within his very soul and then, glowing orange once more, shot upwards through the ceiling, paving its way to freedom with Sky Attack.

* * *

The thermometer beeped. For a brief instant, they didn't realize what was happening. And then the implications struck.

"She's alive!" Brock shouted, running towards the bedside; Nurse Joy quickly grabbed the thermometer before he could accidentally knock it away.

"110... 109... 108... I don't believe it, Flash-Fire is actually taking the fever out of her body! I've never seen anything like it in my life!" she exclaimed.

"Brock," Professor Oak cut in from the video screen, "you said something about a pustule on her chest?"

"Uhh... right!" Brock said, snapping back to the situation at hand. "We think it may be the Pokerus." Professor Oak paused for a moment.

"That's impossible, Brock," he said. "The Pokerus can only be transmitted between Pokemon. Humans are immune to the disease."

"Professor, May had all of the same symptoms that Latias did when she was infected. You saw how both she and Latias reacted to high-pitched noises as well. I know it seems impossible, but there's nothing else to explain the infection," Brock replied. Professor Oak contemplated this silently.

"I need a clear shot of the pustule on her chest," he said. "If you're going to try and cut it out, wear gloves before you touch it and vacuum-seal the pustule in a lab container. Send it to me through the transfer machine below this screen and I'll examine it with Gary. I don't think its Pokerus, but it could be a related disease that's known even less."

"Got it," Brock nodded. He turned to Rey, Dawn, and his brother. "You'd all better clear out of the room," he said.

"What?" Rey protested. "But... why?"

"Because this could be dangerous, and we don't need any distractions," he answered.

"So why are you and Ash staying?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm staying to control the Professor's viewing screen so he can guide Nurse Joy through this," he said.

"And Ash?" Dawn asked.

"Ash is staying because, for some strange reason, he actually seems to be able to control those suffering from Pokerus. He was able to calm Latias down when she was infected, and he did the same with May a few moments ago. Besides, it's only right that he, of all people, be allowed to stay here for this." Rey's eyes narrowed.

"So you're saying that Ash is somehow superior to us and therefore allowed to stay and watch?" she asked.

"I'm saying that given the depth of his, ah, _friendship_ with May, he has the right to be here with her as she undergoes a painful surgery," he answered calmly.

"He's right," Forrest said quietly, his mouth dry as he backed his older brother up. "We'd only be a distraction. And do we really need to stay and watch somebody's chest get cut open?" Rey's mouth worked for a few seconds, but no sound came out. At last, giving up, she turned and left the room without a word. Dawn and Forrest followed her silently. Once outside, however, Rey abruptly turned and pushed Forrest against the wall.

"Rey!" Dawn gasped, shocked.

"Don't you ever dare do that again," she seethed, ignoring her. Forrest looked up at her in amazement.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Go against me like you did just now. I'm trying to offer my support, and then you make sure that support is rebuffed," she snarled, punctuating each remark with a jab of her finger to his chest. It suddenly struck Forrest how much taller than him Rey was; his eyes narrowed.

"Is it really May that you're worried about in there," he asked. "Or are you only concerned about Ash? Would you really be that upset if May suddenly died today?" Rey reeled away, looking as if she'd been slapped.

"Get away from me, you squint-eyed freak," she growled, turning and storming away. Dawn stared after her roommate, open-mouthed. She thought about running after her, then, changing her mind, turned to Forrest instead.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"I guess so," he answered. "We Rock-type trainers are pretty tough, you know." But behind his bravado and eyelashes, Dawn could see a glimmer of tears.

"What she said... it was uncalled for," she said uncomfortably.

"It was the truth," he said simply. "Maybe not the way you or I saw it, but to her perception it was. She was offering support, and I did go against her."

"Not in the way she made out."

"Did I do any better?" Forrest asked. "I accused her of having a crush on Ash, and I insinuated that she wouldn't care if May died because it would give her a chance with him. Her feelings must have been really hurt by that; you saw the look on her face."

"I guess you were both a bit out of line," Dawn said, still feeling uncomfortable. "I don't know Rey that well yet, but I know her well enough to be pretty sure that she'll be feeling really bad about the way she just acted towards you... and what she called you."

"Both sides feel bad after an argument. It makes me wonder sometimes why we have them, when all it causes it grief. My guess is because everything has to have an opposite, and it's an opposite to love."

"Most people would say that hate is the opposite to love," Dawn said.

"Hate is usually spawned from conflict," Forrest answered. "The schoolchild hates his bully; the oppressed hate the oppressor; and in an argument, both sides will hate the other, even if it's only for a brief moment." Dawn looked at him curiously. He resembled his older brother in so many ways, but he was surprisingly philosophical for a love struck teenager. There was something very intriguing about him...

"Why do you and Brock have such squinty eyes?" she blurted. His mouth dropped and she winced, mortified that she had actually asked that. Then, to her complete surprise, he laughed.

"I can open my eyes as well as the next person," he chuckled, demonstrating. "It's not a genetic deformity; it's a training tactic that my brother discovered."

"Huh?" she asked, surprised that he wasn't offended, and that there was actually an answer.

"Just after Brock became the Pewter City Gym Leader after, well..." his face darkened momentarily, "he began to do some serious training to make sure that he'd be a good Gym Leader. During a power cut, he accidentally found out that by closing his eyes almost all the way, it helped him to sense where his Pokemon was on the field. After a little extra practice, he could sense his opponents Pokemon too.

"It got to the point where he could predict how his Pokemon and its moves could be affected by the terrain on the battlefield. So, to help him develop the technique, he began to keep his eyes mostly closed all the time. He kept crashing into things at first, but over time he was able to sense everything around him, no matter where it was; a parked car, a bicycle that would suddenly cut in front, even a toy shovel left on the ground by one of my sisters. And that meant that he could use his Pokemon more effectively at any location, not just the Pewter Gym."

"So you decided to try it too?" she asked. Forrest nodded.

"Yeah, and all my brothers and sisters too. Even my Dad started doing it when he was selling rocks on the outskirts, although my Mom always said that she's never seen the point. It really works though; I'm not as good as Brock is at it, but then he's had so much more time to develop it. You have to really know your Pokemon for it to work though; you should know it as well as you do yourself."

"That's amazing," she said.

"It really makes me respect my brother," he said. "When you think about how many Pokemon he has, and how quickly he bonds and battles with them... most of the time he's unappreciated for what he brings to Ash's group."

* * *

Rey stormed out the doors of the Pokemon Centre, her fury so great that she didn't even feel the cool night air as it brushed against her body.

"That... love struck... perverted... squint-eyed... bast..." she muttered, spitting out each word harshly as she moved, completely unaware of where she was going. With a great clang she reeled backwards, clamping her hands to her mouth in pain. "Ow... tha' hurh," she moaned, looking to see what had smacked into her face. With intense embarrassment, she realized that she had gone into a park just across the road from the Pokemon Centre and walked straight into a swing set.

She sat down in the swing, feeling her jaw gingerly. One side of her mouth was slightly warm and sticky, and she realized that she must have split her lip. Grumbling under her breath she rummaged in her bag, trying to find something to wipe away the blood.

"Here, take mine," a massive man said, offering her a clean cloth. She shrieked in surprise and fell backwards off the swing, sprawling on the ground with her legs still tangled in the seat. She hadn't even noticed him sitting next to her.

"Thith jush ishn' ma day," she moaned.

"It sure looks that way," the man agreed. "That was quite a spectacular crash you had with the swing. I tried to warn you, but you didn't seem to hear me even though you were only a couple of feet away." He then averted his eyes. "And I'd suggest that the next time you decide to fall over like that, you wear a longer skirt."

"Well don' jush wook," she shouted.

"I'm not," he protested. "That's why I turned away."

"Ib behah shay a' way," she warned, struggling to get back up. It only took her a few seconds to realize that her legs were tangled, rendering her hopelessly overbalanced. "I'm shuck," she complained. "Hewp me up?"

"You've got to be kidding me," the man sighed. He reached out a hand, grabbed Rey by the arm, and pulled her up effortlessly.

"'Anksh," she mumbled. "I' shawee; I shpli' ma lip on sha poe'." The man squinted in the dim light, examining her mouth.

"Yup, you've got a mighty fine fat lip there already; here," he said, offering his cloth again. This time she took it with a minimal amount of drama, and gently dabbed at her bleeding lips.

"Anksh," she said again.

"No problem," the man replied as he sat down on the swing again; it creaked under his weight. Rey suddenly realized just how large this man. Not fat, just... big. Even in the dark she could see his muscles straining against the fibres of his shirt. She was no slouch when it came to height, but he was also a good foot taller than her.

"Something wrong?" the man asked pleasantly, noticing her staring at him. She looked away before he could see the red tinge creeping up her cheeks.

"Ah... no," she managed to say. He nodded towards the Pokemon Centre.

"I'm looking for a guy named Forrest," he said. "Do you know if he's in there?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Fowesh ish ah weashon I' ou' 'ere wi' a bweedin' mou'," she growled. The man looked surprised.

"Really?" he asked. "May I ask why?" And so Rey launched into a full and vociferous tirade on just why she was out here with a bleeding lip, and why she hated Forrest so much. In the end, it was the need to take a breath of air that caused her to stop ranting, a pause the stranger quickly took advantage of.

"Right, I think I'll go and have a talk with this Forrest," he said, standing from the swing and cracking his knuckles menacingly. Rey paled.

"You... you won't hurt him, will you?" she asked, completely unaware that she was talking properly again. The stranger noted the concern in her voice and smiled slightly to himself, an action completely obscured by the darkness. His reply, however, was gruff with a hint of danger in it.

"I let my Pokemon do the talking for me, Baby" he said, striding off towards the Pokemon Centre. "I have a score to settle with him, and this only makes me want to do it more."

"Baby? I'm not a baby..." Rey stared after him for a few seconds before she realized that this man was quite possibly on his way to beat Forrest to a pulp.

"Wait!" she shouted, tearing off after him. "Wait!"

* * *

"Brock, can you adjust the screen a little?" Professor Oak asked. "I need to get a closer shot of that pustule."

"Sure thing, Professor," Brock nodded from off-camera, zooming in on May's chest.

"Brock... I need to see the pustule, not her breast," Oak sighed

"Sorry Professor, I don't have an external screen to go on. Can you tell me where to shift the lens?"

"Left... down a bit... a bit more... left... left... okay, hold it there!" He took a close look at the pustule, noting its colour, contours, and size. "It does look a bit like the Pokerus," he admitted grudgingly, "but we won't know for certain until I can examine it here."

"How will you be able to do that?" Brock asked. "Your lab was destroyed."

"My house was destroyed," Oak answered, "but my lab and research storage room were kept safe because they were built underground and reinforced for safety. All of my equipment is still there, so I should still be able to examine it."

"Professor," Delia called, coming down the hallway. "There's a nice young man here who would like to help you out with the rebuilding effort."

"That's very nice, but I'm a little busy at the moment," Oak said, barely glancing away from the screen.

"I'm so sorry," Delia said, turning to the new arrival. "Would you like some dinner? It's just out of the oven."

"I'd love some, thank you," he answered politely, flicking away a strand of dark hair that was straying into his eyes. "I've come a long way to get here, and a home cooked meal would certainly be a nice change from the typical travelling fare."

"I'll be right back with your plate," Delia promised, heading into the kitchen.

"Joy, make an inch-long incision just below the pustule. Brock, make sure that you pad the area thoroughly with the absorbent foam; we want as little spillage as possible. Hold her head steady, Ash, we don't want her to start thrashing around again," Oak directed, his eyes focused on the screen and completely unaware of the man standing behind him. The front door burst open and Tracey and Norman walked into the room, chatting light-heartedly. Tracey's smile froze and fell as he beheld the young man standing nearby the Professor.

"Oh, so you found the house okay I guess," he said. The man smiled, once again sending shivers down Tracey's spine.

"Yes... Your directions were exemplary, right down to the Mr. Mime," he said softly. Norman, although not affected by the smile, did not like his tone, or the look in his eyes. He took a step forwards.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before... What do you want here?"

"Norman!" Oak called, the sound of his voice causing the Professor to realize his presence. "Norman, I'm on the line to the Vermillion City Pokemon Centre; May's very sick, and she's being operated on right now."

"_What?_" Norman shouted, his face pale as he dashed forwards towards the screen.

"Here's your tray," Delia sang out, backing out of the kitchen with a heavily laden dish. The stranger moved faster than any of them could follow. Delia shrieked and dropped the tray as the cold, hard blade of a Scyther pressed against her neck, released from the stranger's Poke Ball. He ducked behind his Pokemon and hostage as Professor Oak and Norman turned to the commotion and Tracey started forwards.

"Nobody move," he growled. "My Pokemon are trained to kill if necessary; this Scyther's blades are sharp enough to cut right through her neck if I give the order."

"Professor, there's too much bleeding; there isn't enough foam to absorb it," Brock shouted from the screen, his panicked voice sounding tinny to their ears.

"Answer that and this woman dies," the stranger growled.

"But... it's my daughter who he's trying to help," Norman pleaded.

"Professor Oak, are you there? She's beginning to thrash around again, Ash can't hold her. She's losing too much blood, we can't stop it!" Brock shouted again.

"Her life doesn't concern me," the stranger answered. "Give me what I want and you can save two lives tonight. If you don't, this woman and your daughter will both die."

"What is it that you want?" Oak asked, comprehension beginning to dawn as Kurt's words came back to him. _This guy is ruthless. Once he found out I didn't have the GS Ball anymore, he used his Pokemon to knock me out. He won't be afraid to do the same, or worse, to you._ He remembered Kurt's description of his attacker and inwardly cursed; this man was identical to him in every aspect. _How did he get here from Johto so quickly?_

"I want the GS Ball," the stranger said simply.

"I don't have it," Oak said simply. "The girl who took it from Kurt never delivered it to me."

"Scyther!" the man ordered, and the Pokemon put more pressure on the blade held against Delia's neck. She turned white as it bit through her skin and a little spurt of blood began to pool on the blade. "You're lying," he hissed. "Kurt told me that he gave it to a girl on a Pidgeot, who then gave it to you." Norman gasped as the realization struck him.

"She forgot," Oak said, forcing himself to keep calm.

"Then where is it?" the man growled.

"It's still with her, Paul," Oak said, looking him straight in the eye. If Paul was surprised that Oak knew his name, he didn't show it.

"And where is she?" he asked. Oak hesitated before answering, turning instead to look at Norman. The Gym Leader's face was tortured. His whole world rested on this one pivotal answer. If it wasn't given, May would die, and Delia along with her. If it was given May could still die, but...

But she had Ash to protect her. And he would know that Paul was coming.

His eyes closed, misery and pain still etched into his face, he gave an almost imperceptible nod. Oak closed his eyes and answered.

"She's his dying daughter," he said softly.

Paul looked at them incredulously and swore. "It can't be," he said. "It's with her, and she's with..."

"_Professor!"_ Brock screamed from the videophone. Oak took the chance.

"Brock, trust me when I say this is a matter of life or death," he snapped. "Does Ash still have the GS Ball?"

"What?"

"_Does Ash still have the GS Ball!_" he roared.

"Of course he does, who else would have it?" Brock shouted. "She's dying Oak!"

"You have your answer," Oak said softly, looking at Paul with an expression of pure loathing on his face.

"Honchkrow; through the glass!" Paul shouted, unleashing the dark-type and jumping on its back. There was the sound of shattering glass, a streak of red light as Scyther was recalled, and then nothing. The stranger was gone. Shivering, Delia collapsed to the ground in a state of shock, her eyes wide and blood still flowing from the cut on her neck.

"Tracey, help me with her!" Norman shouted. "Sam... you can still save my May." His words were lost on deaf ears, the Professor already intent on the screen, explaining to Brock why he would explain his disappearance later.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. Hopefully the next one will be up (relatively) soon. As ever, please review!**


	31. Heartbreak

**Another late update... But this more than makes up for the delay! This chapter is, without question, the longest one I have written yet. I think it's almost twice as long as any other to date, actually. I hope you enjoy, and I promise that I'll try to get onto a semi-regular updating schedule from now on; bi-weekly, perhaps.**

**Now, let's get back to the action!**

* * *

It was dark. Very dark. Even the moon was obscured by low-lying clouds, and there was not even a breath of wind that threatened to disturb them. He trained his eyes on the Poketch that Paul had loaned him for this one mission. His pulse began to quicken as the minutes and seconds counted down. At last, it was time.

Getting to his feet with as much stealth as he could muster, he slunk off down the hill as quietly and as invisibly as possible. For the first time in his life, he wished he wore the standard black uniform instead of the shiny white he had adorned for years. Still, he managed to make it down the hill and onto the field with minimal problems, although he had to admit that it was more due to the town being on the other side of the hill than his own mediocre stalking skills.

Once back on level ground, he abandoned caution in favour of speed. If the hills didn't keep him hidden from view at this point while he travelled across the field, no amount of stealth could help him. Speed was of the essence for this particular task. Still, he made it a point to run as quietly as possible so as to avoid any undue attention. Many of the Pokemon had run off after the attack, but some might have returned since then. The last thing he wanted was to disturb and anger a Nidoking or Rhydon in the darkness.

While his sight and other senses may have been hindered by the night, he was profoundly grateful that he had been ordered to complete this task under the cover of darkness. For one thing, while he could barely see anything, it meant the chances of his being seen were also reduced. And for another, the night hid the ravaged land from his view. Had he started his task at dusk the mighty scars would have been all too visible, and he doubted that his already strained courage could have taken that frightening sight. But while he could not see the remnants of the Rayquaza's attack, nothing could prevent him from hearing it. The dead and charcoaled grass crackled underneath his feet with every step, making him wince. In some ways, it made the scene more eerie than the sight of those scars did. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when the crackling sounds stopped and he felt a mixture of gravel and concrete under his feet instead.

Knowing he was close bolstered his tattered courage. Slowing down, he tried to gather his bearings. He had been here many times before, but never inside the actual building. Still, he knew the rough layout of the construction from his visits prior to the attack and his brief observations earlier in the day. Skirting a few girders and a half-completed wall, he quickly saw what he had been looking for; a doorframe with intricate stone steps beyond that led into the ground. He was surprised. He had not expected to find it so easily.

His confidence growing by the second, he made his way through the doorframe and carefully descended down the steps. He was expecting them to lead belowground, but was surprised when he saw that at the bottom of the steps, there was a tunnel curving its way through the rock. Once inside, he felt safe enough to turn on his flashlight for the first time since starting out. His breath caught in his throat at what he saw.

Ancient carvings, scripts, and archaeological treasures decorated the curved walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Only down here had Professor Oak's massive collection been spared any damage. Pausing briefly to examine the tunnel walls more closely he realized all the priceless artefacts were not hung from the walls and ceiling, but rather contained behind it. Rapping his knuckles gently against the sides, he saw that they were all covered by a clear and seemingly durable clear alloy. He wasn't sure exactly what the material was, but it had been enough protect the Professor's collection from the Rayquaza.

He bent his nose close to the wall, examining one of the ancient tablets with interest. He breathed in sharply at what he saw. The paint was faded and in some places chipped away altogether, but there could be no doubt about what had been painted.

A man stood alone, his back to the painter. Surrounding him on the ground were 18 tablets, each one a different colour and with a different symbol carved into the top. Facing the man in the distance were what appeared to be the legendary Pokemon Raikou, Moltres, and Regice. The sky was dark at the edges, a violent shade of purple. Closer to the center, however, it took on a whitish tinge, the edges of the thunderous closer becoming more visible. At the center itself, the white clouds swirled into a dangerous looking vortex, coalescing into a white and violet orb that hung low over the man's hand. From the man's stance, it seemed apparent that he was sneering, his arms raised in defiance, a golden and silver Poke Ball clutched in his hands; the GS Ball.

_The GS Ball... That's what I'm here for,_ he thought. _But... why is it here, in this ancient painting of all places? Is it the same one? If it is, how can it possibly have lasted for so long without being aged or damaged?_ He was startled from his thoughts by the worst sounds he could have possibly heard; voices and footsteps.

Panicking, he covered the beam of the flashlight with his hand and ran as swiftly and silently down the passage as he could, hoping against hope that he was imagining it, or if they were real that they would just pass the tunnel by. He reached the pass coded door and began fumbling with the keypad, mistyping the several password possibilities he had been given in his haste. He heard several footsteps approaching from within the tunnel, and stopped trying. It was useless. The people were close enough that they would hear the door opening, and even if they didn't it would not take them long to find him in the lab.

As a flashlight beam broke around the final corner, he turned to face them, calm etched onto his face and a Poke Ball clenched in his hand. James was ready for the battle of his life.

* * *

"This is going to be very tricky," Professor Oak said, forcing himself to speak calmly. "We'll need Blissey, Sudowudo, Bayleef, Totodile, Sceptile, Gallade, Glalie, and Latias. Joy... you've done enough for now."

"I can do more!" she protested as the eight Pokemon were released. "I should have done more..."

"You've given her a fighting chance," Oak answered. "But your hands are trembling and time is running out for May. What we need now are bandages, and foam pads. I need you to get as many of those as you can, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered before running out of the room.

"This is going to be unpleasant for every one of the Pokemon," Oak said, returning his attention to Brock and Ash. "None of them are trained for medical surgery, but they are the only chance we have to save May."

"They're ready... aren't you, guys?" Ash asked, receiving a chorus of calls in response.

"Pi-Pikachu, pika!" Pikachu called, waving his arms anxiously at the screen.

"I know you want to help Pikachu, but there's nothing you can do here," Oak answered. "But if her heart stops... we'll need you to restart it."

"Pika," the electric-type nodded, retreating closer to the bed.

"Bayleef, you have to hold May steady with your Vine Whip. Be sure not to compress her chest too tightly; that could just squeeze the blood out more calmly. She may get agitated again, so you have to aim your Sweet Scent directly at her nose. Be careful with your aim; we don't want our surgeons getting too relaxed while they work."

"Surgeons?" Brock asked.

"Sceptile, Totodile, Gallade, and Glalie," Oak replied. "Glalie, use your Icy Wind to cool May's temperature. Her blood flow will slow down, and it'll buy us some time. Totodile, use your gentlest Water Gun to wash the blood away from the pustule. The last thing we need is clotting hindering our cuts, or a pool of blood to stop us from seeing what we need. Ash and Brock, one of you needs to tilt May a little to one side so that the blood and water can drain away. "

"Tile," Sceptile sighed, seeing where this was going and powering up his Leaf Blade.

"I know you don't want to Sceptile, but you and Gallade are the only ones who can do it," Oak said, sensing the grass-type's mood. "The accuracy of a Pokemon is much greater than that of a scared human, and you'll have the advantage of being able to feel the pustule as you work. Are you ready?"

"Er!" Gallade nodded, his face a grim slash of determination as his arms began to glow black from a Night Slash.

"Good, then get started! Totodile first, then Glalie, Sceptile and Gallade."

"To-to-to-to-to-to-da," Totodile mumbled, spewing out a light stream of water into the bloody opening around the pustule. As the water-type Pokemon worked Ash, Brock, and Bayleef gently lifted May up, allowing the liquids to flow away from the wounds. Calculating both the power and spread necessary, Glalie began to exude a cold blast of air on May's body, cooling her temperature and restricting the flow of blood. Sceptile's and Gallade's eyes met; nodding briefly, they turned to May and positioned their blades.

Trying his hardest not to wince, Sceptile concentrated and carefully focused the power of his Leaf Blade; focusing the attack narrowed the blade, making it more accurate to work with in delicate situations such as this, but the power became much more concentrated. One slip could be fatal for May.

"Lade, erlade er," Gallade urged the grass-type, his Night Slash also narrowed.

"Scep," Sceptile nodded, lowering his arms and gingerly worrying the Leaf Blade through May's cold flesh. A spurt of blood instantly rose to the surface, and was quickly washed away by Totodile's Water Gun. Glalie spat out a cold lump against May's chest, lowering the temperature even more and causing the blood to congeal slightly beneath the flesh. Gritting his teeth and trying to ignore the blood that slowly welled up around his Leaf Blade, Sceptile continued to work the blade through May's breast, gently scissoring muscle and tissue apart as he tried to manoeuvre beneath the pustule.

May moaned and began to twitch as consciousness crept in. Sceptile froze and halted the Leaf Blade, worried that it might slice through something he didn't intend. Her brow furrowed in concentration, Bayleef wafted a Sweet Scent towards May. May continued to move for a moment and then relaxed as the overpowering fumes reached her brain and she fell back into unconsciousness. Bayleef let out a silent sigh of relief and nodded towards Sceptile.

The large grass-type stepped back, breathing nervously. He had done all that he could with his blades, and he feared that by continuing he might cut right through her breast and puncture a lung, or even the pulmonary artery. It was time for Gallade, with his smaller and more accurate blades, to take over.

The Psychic-type worked quickly and effectively. Where Sceptile had worked vertically, his cuts were horizontal. With minimal blood leakage, he was able to slide his Night Slash through the fatty tissue without much difficulty. Angling his blades diagonally upward Gallade completed the cut, slicing the pustule away from May's body. Brock quickly wrapped his hand in a plastic glove and reached down to grab the pustule. He expertly removed his hand, turning the glove inside out, and tied it tightly. "I have it," he announced.

"Perfect," Professor Oak replied. "Put it in the transfer station and send it here immediately; I'll send an empty Poke Ball in return."

Joy rushed back into the room, her arms filled with foam pads and bandages. "I brought all that I could find," she panted.

"Start padding the area, get rid of the excess blood," Oak ordered. "This next part is especially tricky, and we need the opening as clear as possible."

"What do we need to do?" Brock asked as he initiated the pustule's transfer.

"Blissey has to place both arms inside the wound and use Heal Bell," Oak answered, reaching down to his own transfer and holding the tightly wrapped pustule up to his eyes. "We need Sudowudo to do the same with Mimic. That should hopefully seal it up. Then we need Latias to use Recover; that will hopefully regenerate the flesh and restore the blood. "

"Is that even possible?" Brock asked, awed.

"Heal Bell is a technique that seals flesh wounds," Oak answered. "It's difficult to use in surgery at the best of times, and your Blissey isn't trained for this kind of operation. That's why I want Sudowudo to help her out with Mimic."

"I meant Latias's Recover, being able to regenerate all of that tissue and blood... this isn't a surface wound. There's a lot more at stake here than flesh and capillaries, Professor. If the Recover only repairs the flesh, it could cause May long-term health problems."

"I know that, Brock," Oak snapped. "When a Pokemon uses Recover, it repairs all of the damage done to their body. All of it. It will be tricky for Latias to direct it into May, but it will heal her."

"Will Recover be enough?" Nurse Joy asked quietly. "It's a technique we have to use from time to time on severely injured Pokemon, and it doesn't always work that well."

"I know... I have to use it occasionally too," Professor Oak answered. "But remember that Latias is a legendary Pokemon; her capture by Ash doesn't lessen her strength. Her Recover will be incredibly powerful, far more so than that of an Alakazam, or even a Metagross. If any Pokemon can heal May, it's Latias."

"Can you do it, Latias?" Ash quietly, unheard by Brock, Oak, or Nurse Joy. "Can you really heal May like that? Professor Oak only has his theories, but if anyone knows, it's you." The legendary Pokemon gazed at him for a moment, her deep eyes clouded in contemplation. They cleared abruptly and she gave a light chirp, nodding her head in reassurance. Ash nodded back, not feeling himself able to speak.

"Blissey, Sudowudo; are you ready?" Nurse Joy asked, continuing to sponge up the blood leaking from May's breast. Both Pokemon let out affirmative cries and took a step forward. "Then let's get started," she said.

"Ash," May moaned, her eyes flickering open. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Ash quickly knelt down by her side.

"I'm here, May," he whispered softly. "I'm here for you." She grimaced and reached for her breast, but Ash caught and stayed her hand.

"...Hurts..." she mumbled.

"I know, May, I know. Blissey, Sudowudo, and Latias are going to take the pain away. Stay calm, it won't take long."

"Char," the baby Charmander added, reannouncing its presence from underneath May's bed.

"Char?" she murmured.

"That's right May; your egg hatched," Ash said, leaning down to pick up the Charmander. He placed it on the bed, where it nuzzled against her cheek affectionately. He stroked her bangs for a moment and then looked at Bayleef meaningfully. "You have a new friend," he continued quietly.

"New friend... Char..." she whispered, smiling faintly. Her eyes closed as Bayleef's Sweet Scent took hold of her mind again, sending her back into sleep.

"Sweet dreams, May," Ash murmured quietly as Blissey and Sudowudo approached. "I hope that when you wake up, this whole ordeal will be over for you."

* * *

He writhed in agony as the pain hit him, obliterating all else. His vision was dark, his hearing nonexistent, his touch gone. All that there was, all that there ever had been, was this pain. It was an agony he had never felt before, one 

that was both physical and mental. He could not think, he could not breathe; all he could do was writhe and wait for death.

And then it was gone. He lay on the ground, heaving in great gulps of air, sweat cascading out of every orifice in his body. He felt incredibly weak and vulnerable. He squinted as a dark shadow fell across him, and made out the figure of Max kneeling at his side. Hatred and fear rose in his throat; he wanted to run, but he knew that he didn't have the strength to even stand.

"She wanted to die, Drew," Max said softly, tracing patterns into the dirt with a finger. "She wanted to die, and it was because of you. I think a part of her did die, actually. She changed inside."

"I've never done anything I've been ashamed of," Drew managed to croak. Max's gaze shot from the dirt to his eyes, and in that one moment the Coordinator realized just how much the younger trainer despised him.

"She loved you," he spat. "She loved you; she gave her heart to you..." He stood angrily, punching his fist into an open palm. "You betrayed her," he hissed. "You took her heart and threw it away as easily as you do a rose... You deserve this pain."

"No... Don't... I can't ..."

"It's a fraction of the pain you caused when you ripped her world apart," Max retorted. "Gardevoir!"

Drew's spine arched agonizingly as the burning pain of a Stage-3 Psychic assailed him once again. He contorted into impossible positions as the pain enveloped him, filled him, consumed him. But through it all, a memory appeared at the forefront. And as the memory, the source of this agony, took over his consciousness, a single tear of regret rolled down his cheek.

* * *

"_A perfect landing again, Flygon!" Drew said happily, stroking his dragon-type on the neck. "You've really gotten fast; we made it to Blackthorn City in no time at all!"_

"_No kidding_,_" May said, looking around curiously. "Hey, where's the Contest Hall? I want to enter as soon as possible."_

"_It's only a couple of streets away, next to the Blackthorn Gym," a young woman with carmine hair said from behind them. Drew kept his cool, turning around quickly to see who had spoken. May wasn't quite so composed, leaping up in the air with a shriek of surprise only to land and trip over Flygon's tail, sending her sprawling on her back in the dust._

"Oops," the girl said, giggling and holding out a hand to help her up. "Sorry May, I didn't mean to startle you like that." Grudgingly, May took her hand and clambered to her feet. "How do you know who I am?" she asked. A shadow of disappointment crossed the girl's face.

"_You don't remember me?" she asked. May studied the girl carefully; the style of her short, reddish hair was familiar, as was the yellow tank-top that she wore. Realization began to dawn as a Masquerain and Vibrava appeared from behind her, and she looked at the girl's face more closely. Yes, it was a face she knew well, although it had filled out and matured well since she had last seen her all those years ago. Speaking of filling out, she wasn't sure where this chest that rivalled her own in size had come from; but there was no longer any doubt in her mind._

"_Brianna?" she asked at last. The girl gave a huge grin and threw her arms around May._

"_I knew you'd remember me!" she laughed, "I knew it! How have you been? Still doing Contests, I guess?"_

"_I've been great," May beamed. "Drew and I are together now, and yeah I'm still doing contests. The first three ribbons came by really easily, but the fourth one took a while. Now I'm on my last chance to get a fifth before the Grand Festival. How about you? Finally travelling around to become a Contest Master?"_

"_Hmm? No..." she said slowly, a shadow across her face. "I tried it out for a little while, but I realized while I love watching Contests, I don't actually enjoy competing in them that much. So I switched to Gyms. I decided to try out Johto before going back to Kanto, and now I only need one more badge. I've been to the Gym once today, but Clair wasn't in; she's supposed to be one of the toughest Gym Leaders there is, mostly thanks to her Dragon-types." Drew's eyes lit up._

"_She's a dragon trainer?" he asked with interest. Brianna turned to him, her face suddenly a bright crimson. _

"_Yeah, that's right. I think she gives out badges after a three-on-three battle. Why, are you interested?" Drew shook his head._

"_Not for a badge," he chuckled. "I'll be a Coordinator my entire life; I love it too much to give it up. But I would like to challenge her to a one-on-one match with my Flygon; Dragon-types are really hard to raise, and I'd like to see what she thinks about mine. If anybody knows how good a job I'm doing, it's her." He eyed her up and down quickly, his eyes lingering at certain points. "It's been a while since I last saw you too, Brianna," he said softly. "You've grown up a lot; and I mean grown up! You're looking really good." She blushed in response._

"_I'm not the only one," she murmured, feeling tongue-tied. "Want to go check out the Gym now then? I'm sure she must be back by now."_

"_I'd love to," he grinned, recalling Flygon. "Show me the way!" May cleared her throat noisily as the two started off towards the Gym. _

"_What about me?" she asked, as they paused and turned. "What am I supposed to do?"_

"_The Pokemon Centre is just over there," Drew said, pointing to the side. "Why don't you book us a room for tonight and give your Pokemon a check-up?"_

"_Oh... okay... I guess," she said quietly as they turned and walked off once again._

"_Bye May!" Brianna called cheerfully over her shoulder. "See you later, okay?"_

"_Yeah... whatever..." she muttered, watching them walk away. With a sinking feeling in her heart, she turned and moved toward the Pokemon Centre._

"_I mean, we've only been together two days, but I've liked him for so long. I was really happy when he asked me, but things just... they don't seem right to me, Brock," May complained into the videophone._

"_Why do you say that?" Brock asked. _

"_Well, before my last Contest he'd told me that the one in Ecruteak City was the last of the region. Then after I lost there and he asked me out, he told me that he'd lied and the last Contest was here in Blackthorn. He said that it was to try and take the pressure off, since Solidad is entering the Blackthorn Contest. But that just adds more pressure to me, you know? And it really hurts that he'd just lie so easily to me."_

"_It's a small thing, but if he bothers to lie about something so small... it really brings up an issue of trust," Brock mused. _

"_Exactly! I mean, why even bother lying? There was no reason too... And now he's just left me alone while he goes off to the Gym with Brianna..."_

"_Brianna?" Brock asked, frowning in thought. "You mean that girl from Kanto who had a crush on Drew?"_

"_Yeah, that's her," May groused. "They just took off for the Gym without inviting me. Would it take so much to be polite?" She sighed. "It just hurts... Drew and I are supposed to be together, but it feels like he's treating me worse than he did when we first became rivals." _

"_Well..." Brock said, hesitating. "Give it time. This whole relationship thing is new to both of you; maybe he just needs time for it to sink in."_

"_Yeah... maybe..." she said quietly. "Thanks Brock."_

"_No problem, May. Call me any time you need," he said._

"_I will... How's Ash doing?" she asked. _

"_Oh, he's doing great! You know he won the Sinnoh league a couple weeks ago, right?" _

"_I didn't!" she said, surprised. "I've doing a lot of travelling recently. When I was in Ecruteak, it was the first time I'd been in a town for a month." _

"_Well, it was really close in the end. And he beat his rival Paul in the finals, which made the victory even sweeter. Now he can take on the Elite Four challenge. If he beats a member from each region, as well as the Elite Champion, he'll be recognized as a Pokemon Master. His first match is against Agatha of Kanto. He knows she's a Ghost-type trainer, so he's been spending a lot of time thinking about what Pokemon to use against her."_

"_That's really great," she said, trying to be enthusiastic. "Give him my congratulations and wish him luck from me, okay?"_

"_Sure thing," he said, before hesitating again. "Are you sure you're okay, May?"_

"_I'll be alright," she said evasively, disconnecting the call. Sighing, she got up from the videophone's desk and threw herself backwards onto the bed. Closing her eyes, she immersed herself in thoughts and memories. She wasn't sure exactly how much passed, but it was a good while later when Drew finally let himself into their room. _

"_How was your battle?" she asked without opening her eyes. _

"_I lost," he sighed. "Her Dragon-types are incredibly powerful. I've never seen those kinds of moves used so effectively. Flygon didn't last more than a couple of turns; even my Contest techniques didn't faze her. But on the plus side, I learned a lot. Maybe one day Flygon will be able to give a good match to even a Salamence. I should visit Gyms more often... Try and work their strategy into mine for Contests..."_

"_How did Brianna do?" May asked, sitting up._

"_Her match was close, but she lost too," Drew answered. "She's gonna try again in a few days, and give her Pokemon some rest time until then. We're going to take a look around Blackthorn City tomorrow, and maybe spend some time in the Ice Cave too." _

"_That sounds like fun," May said, forcing herself to sound cheerful. "I can't wait to take a look around the Ice Cave either." _

"_Well... The thing is," Drew began haltingly._

"_You don't want me to come along," May said, dropping the happy tone and crossing her arms._

"_It's not that we wouldn't you like to come with us," Drew said quickly. "It's just that, you know, your time would probably be better spent training. There's just over two weeks left to go until the Contest; don't you think your time would be better spent spending that time training if you want to beat Solidad? You both have four ribbons; one of you is going to miss out on the Grand Festival. If you want to beat her, you'll have to train as much as possible."_

"_So you don't think I'm good enough to beat her?" May demanded, her temper flaring._

"_No," Drew said, choosing his words carefully. "I'm saying that since you know Solidad will be training her heart out for this competition, so you should be too." May sighed, giving up the argument._

"_Fine, whatever; I'll spend all day training tomorrow."_

"_Great," Drew smiled, getting into his bed. "You should spend some time with Ledian; she's got a nice array of attacks and she combines them well, but she just isn't strong enough for this level of competition. If you really train her, she'll be ready in time for the competition."_

"_Maybe... I'd been planning on using Munchlax and Bulbasaur though," May answered. _

"_Whatever you want," Drew shrugged, "it's your choice. Goodnight."_

"_Goodnight, Drew," May said quietly._

_And so it continued. For the remainder of the week, May spent each and every day training the Pokemon she had on hand. They worked on movement, their speed and the timing they needed to execute a perfect dodge. Attacks were refined as they focused on making each attack as quick as possible, and improved their accuracy. Blaziken even managed to use two attacks simultaneously, a technique that was almost impossible to pull off because of the amount of willpower required._

_But while she spent those days working hard with her Pokemon, Drew was nowhere in sight. Each and every day, instead of helping May with her training and giving her the encouragement she needed, he chose to spend his time with Brianna. She wasn't exactly sure what they were doing; Drew tended to be rather vague about that. She could only assume that they were exploring Blackthorn City, the surrounding area, and in Brianna's case, rechallenging the Gym Leader. _

"_Bulbasaur, combine Razor Leaf and Vine Whip!" May ordered. _

"_Saur!" Bulbasaur grunted, trying to combine the two attacks with all of her might; only a single vine extended and hit the target. "Bul..." Bulbasaur said sadly. _

"_It's okay, Bulbasaur," May sighed. "I know it's hard, but it'll be worth it in the end. It's really difficult for any Pokemon to escape a dual attack; you'll get it soon."_

"_So, you're trying to teach your Bulbasaur how to do a dual attack?" an unfamiliar voice asked from behind her. Jumping a little, May turned to see a tall, lithe woman dressed in a tight form-fitting blue suit that had a black-shoulder trim and a dark red cape. Her long blue hair was tied into a tight ponytail that snaked partway down her back. The only word May could possibly use to describe her was "stunning". _

"_Uhh... yeah, I am," she answered. "My Blaziken can do it, so now I'm trying to teach it to my Bulbasaur too."_

"_Mind showing me your Blaziken's dual attack?" the woman asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'd like to see it."_

"_Sure, I guess," May answered, calling out the massive fire-type. "Blaziken, use a Fire Spin and Mega Kick combo!"_

"_Blaze-ah-kehn!" the fire-type roared, spewing out a jet of streaming fire while running towards the flame with its feet glowing blue. Moving quickly and without warning, the woman stepped forward, directly into the path of the attacks._

"_No!" May screamed. "Blaziken, stop!" It was too late; the Mega Kick smashed directly into the woman at full force, knocking her backwards into the flame. Fearing the worst, May ran towards her Pokemon and the woman, berating herself for allowing Blaziken to show off the attacks so close to the strange woman. Her worry was completely unfounded, however, as the woman stepped forwards from the smoke, casually brushing some dirt off of her short sleeves, completely unharmed. _

"_I see," she said, eying May's Blaziken. "Your Blaziken may be able to launch two attacks at once, but there is no power in them."_

"_What?" May asked, open-mouthed. "That's ridiculous!"_

"_I should have been hurt by those attacks," the woman replied. "But I wasn't. You don't have to believe what I say if you don't want to, but you can't deny what your eyes tell you. Now, I can teach you about dual attacks, if you like. I don't claim to be an expert, but I know more about them than most people."_

"_Why would you want to do that?" May asked suspiciously._

"_Because," the woman replied patiently, "I'm a teacher... of sorts. I enjoy helping others, and if I enjoy making people into stronger battlers. I don't want to sound vain, but there aren't many people who are at my skill level when it comes to battling. It gets boring, demolishing one opponent after another. I want to help improve people's battling skills, because then my own battles will become more enjoyable. So, would you like me to tell you?"_

"_Uhh... Sure, I guess," May answered._

"_Excellent. Now, I'll start with a little background knowledge which everyone should know, but few actually do. Pokemon are not the same beings as humans. They are composed of a myriad of different elemental types; humans are not. This elemental composition means that all Pokemon have a fairly unstable genetic coding. Some, such as Eevee, have more unstable codes than others. _

"_There are eighteen different elemental types that a Pokemon can be made up of. Each element is found within a Pokemon's genetic code, although only one or two are dominant in a species. Grimer, for instance, has the Poison element as its dominant type, while Blaziken has two dominant elements; Fire and Fighting. The ability for a Pokemon to use attacks is dependent on the elements that they are composed of. Bulbasaur, a Grass- and Poison- type Pokemon, is best able to use Grass- and Poison-type attacks. Even though it contains the Water-type element in its genes, it cannot use Water-type attacks such as Bubble or Hydro Pump. Are you following me?" May nodded. _

"_Good. Now, on some occasions a Pokemon can be tricked into using an attack that it shouldn't be able to learn naturally. A Starmie using Thunderbolt is one example, and a Blastoise using Earthquake is another. This takes a lot of time to teach a Pokemon because it requires physical manipulation of the environment, as opposed to naturally using the elements for your own advantage."_

"_I don't really understand," May said._

"_When a Pokemon uses an attack, it is manipulating the elements for its own use," the woman explained. "It's important to remember that every attack requires energy. In their most simple form, attacks _are_ energy. A Flamethrower and an Ice Beam are really the same attack; it's just different Pokemon using the same energy, and manipulating it into their own predominant element. Pokemon also only have a finite amount of energy that can be used. In battles you often find that as the Pokemon gets weaker, so do its attacks."_

"_I think I get that now," May said, comprehension dawning on her face._

"_Good, now we can move onto dual attacks," the woman said. "It's relatively simple from here on in. When a Pokemon begins to use double attacks, the attacks become much weaker. To use an attack, a Pokemon must use the energy stored in their body. Two attacks require twice the energy of one, and that is impossible for a Pokemon to do. What happens is that half the energy goes into one attack, and half the energy into another; this makes both _

_attacks half as powerful as they would be when used as a standalone move. For your Blaziken to use a dual Fire Spin and Mega Kick with the same power as one alone, it would have to be twice as powerful as it is now. And if you did that, just one of its attacks would be twice as powerful as it is now."_

"_So you're basically saying that teaching my Pokemon to use dual attacks is a complete waste of time," May sighed. The woman raised an eyebrow._

"_And when did I say that?" she asked. "There is no doubting that a single attack will always be more powerful than a dual attack. But dual attacks can be very useful, depending on the situation. You can trap a Pokemon and attack at the same time, for instance. And when a Pokemon uses dual attacks, it grows stronger much more quickly than it would otherwise. No, there are definite advantages to using dual attacks; it just depends on where and how you use them. Keep working at it, and keep it simple too. Instead of calling for a dual Mega Kick and Fire Spin, for example, try calling it a Mega Spin, or a Fire Kick. It makes it easier for the Pokemon by doing that too."_

"_Thanks," May said gratefully, "I will. Thank you for teaching me all of this."_

"_No problem at all," the woman said, holding out her hand. "I'd love to battle you too, once you've practiced some more. Are you entering the Contest?"_

"_Yeah, I've already registered and everything," May said, shaking the woman's hand. "If I win, it'll be the last ribbon I need for the Grand Festival. Are you entering?"_

"_I might," the woman said, flicking a stray strand of hair away from her eyes. "It depends on how busy my battle schedule is. I tend to get challenged more often this time of year. In fact, I have a rematch lined up in twenty minutes."_

"_I guess lots of people like challenging themselves against a tough wandering trainer like you, huh?" May asked._

"_Wandering trainer? Oh no," the woman answered laughing. "My name's Clair, and I'm the Blackthorn City Gym Leader. And I'd better get moving or I'll be late for the match. See you later!" Humming to herself, Clair walked off quickly, heading in the direction of the Gym. May stared after her, almost in shock._

"_No wonder she knew so much about it," she murmured. "I just got taught by one of the most powerful Gym Leaders in the world, and I didn't even realize it!"_

_Drew entered the room grumpily, slamming the door on his way inside._

"_Everything okay?" May asked._

"_No, it's not," Drew growled. "We both lost to that damned Gym Leader again. Brianna did even worse than last time. It's ridiculous." There was an uncomfortable pause for a moment before he began speaking again. "May, I have something really important to talk to you about," he said._

"_What's that?" she asked._

"_It's over," he said flatly. "It's over between us. I thought we had something special, but we don't. I can't be with someone I don't feel anything for anymore."_

"_What? But... it's been so long!" she said, tears rising in her eyes._

"_We've only been together a week."_

"_We've only been in a relationship for a week! We've loved each other for years!"_

"_I thought I did... But I confused love for lust. May, I only loved you because of your chest," he said bitterly._

"_Drew... please, don't do this," she begged. "I love you..."_

"_Well I don't love you!" he shouted, his temper rising. "We don't connect, May! We have nothing in common besides Contests and a love of roses! So don't even try pleading me to change my mind with your sad, big eyes, because it won't work! I don't love you, May; I love Brianna."_

"_No... It's not true," she whispered. "It can't be true."_

"_It is true," Drew said coldly. "Now get out of my room; Brianna's sleeping in here with me tonight. I'm sure she won't mind if you take hers."_

_Sobbing, May ran out of the room, out of the Pokemon Centre, out of Drew's life. She moved blindly, her hands covering her face in a vain attempt to prevent tears leaking from her eyes. She didn't know where she was going; she didn't care. Her heart burned painfully, and it wasn't from the exertion of running. She would never have guessed just how much a broken heart could hurt. She ran and ran until at last, her muscles screaming with agony, she collapsed._

_As the sun dropped below the horizon and the stars came out, as the moon moved across the sky, she stayed there unmoving, unable to concentrate on anything except for the pain in her heart. Lost in her misery, she was unaware of how much time passed before she was roused by a tap on the shoulder? Tears blurring her vision, she groaned as she saw one of the last people she wanted to see at that moment._

"_What's the matter, Hun? Sleeping rough tonight?"_

"_Go away, Harley," she growled. He frowned, seeing the sadness in her eyes._

"_What happened?" he asked, kneeling down beside her. She hesitated a moment before answering._

"_Drew split up with me for another girl," she answered, fresh tears coming to her eyes. She half-expected him to make a snide remark in reply, or jump around shouting with joy. She was surprised._

"_Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently. _

"_What is there to tell?" she asked. "I loved him, he didn't love me. All he wanted were my breasts. When he couldn't get those, he threw me aside like I was a piece of rotten fruit and went on to somebody who would give him what he wanted." She looked bitterly at the ground. "I gave him my heart, Harley, and he threw it back in my face."_

"_Every bright cloud has a silver lining," he said gently. "Right now you're in a lot of pain, but you'll come out of this as a stronger and better person. You'll see, May."_

One week later...

"_I finally beat her, Drew," Brianna said, a tight smile on her face. "I finally beat Clair and won the badge."_

"_That's great, Brianna," Drew replied, lounging easily on the bed, his hands behind his head and his shirt discarded on the floor._

"_Drew?" she asked._

"_Hmm?"_

"_I, uh... I have something really important to talk to you about."_

"_What's that?" he asked._

"_It's over," she said flatly. _

"_What?" he shouted, jumping to his feet._

"_I've had a crush on you for a long time, and I thought it was love. But... it wasn't," she said. "I've found someone better; someone who really knows how to handle me."_

"_Who?" he whispered, feeling crushed. She turned and looked back into the hallway._

"_You can come in," she called with a big smile. Drew's eyes grew huge as he saw who it was._

"_No way," he whispered._

"_Hey, Honey-bun," Harley said jovially as he walked into the room. "How are you doing today?"_

"_Brianna... How could you possibly pick Harley over me?" Drew shouted. "This is a joke, right? Right?"_

"_This is no joke," Brianna said, looking at Harley lovingly. "He's everything I've ever wanted."_

"_But... why?" Drew asked, desperation tinged in his voice. "Why would you fall in love with Harley, of all people!"_

"_Well, like I said before," Brianna said with a slight blush. "He really knows how to handle me, if you know what I mean. And the way he dresses like a Cacturne is so adorable! But now we should probably go; I'm sure you're upset and we don't want to bother you." Harley looked at Drew as Brianna walked out of the room, the smile gone from his face._

"_And now," he said, barely constrained rage evident in his voice, "now you know how May felt." He gave the stunned Coordinator a supremely disdainful look before turning to follow Brianna. Only one word that he'd said appeared to register with the native of Larousse City, however._

"_May," he whispered. "I've got to go after May..."_

"_I need you back, May," he pleaded to the stony-faced Coordinator. "I made a mistake, and I admit that. I should have never broken-up with you like that over something this silly. Please say you'll take me back, May. Please." May sighed._

"_I can't take you back," she said softly. "How can I when you've hurt me so badly? If I were to take you back, I would be living with the fear that you'd leave me again for the rest of my life. I can't do it; I just can't."_

"_You're making a mistake,' he warned._

"_My only mistake was in letting myself be deluded by your claims of love in the first place," she snapped angrily. _

"_If you leave me here, I won't stop following you until we're together," he retorted, a dark look in his eyes._

"_Good luck with trying to do that," she said, standing up. "You have a Grand Festival to compete in; I don't. Goodbye, Drew." She stormed out of the room, leaving him standing there feeling slightly dazed. He didn't think it could have possibly gone worse._

_Standing in turn, he began pacing the room. As the memory of recent events began to assail him once more, he realized just what he had lost. He'd lost his friends, his rivals, and the people he loved. This was not something he could casually shrug off. This would haunt him forever. When the enormity of his actions struck him, Drew lost his mind._

* * *

"_Drew!_" May screamed, waking from the nightmare of her past. She bolted upright, her eyes wild. "Stay away from me!" she screamed. "I'll never go back to you, never!" Two strong hands clamped around her arms, holding her in place for a moment before leaning her gently backwards.

"It's okay, May," Ash said reassuringly. "You're safe now. We got the pustule on your chest out, and you should make a full recovery. You could have died if it wasn't for our Pokemon, including your new Charmander."

"I have a Charmander?" she asked blankly. Ash frowned.

"Do you remember anything that's happened, May?" he asked in concern.

"I remember running down a hill and a Pokemon that I've never seen before," she said slowly. "Then the next thing I remember is waking up just now."

"Well, everything's that happened is a really long story," Ash said. "After meeting Mewtwo, you got sick. We don't know what it was, but we think it may be a variant of the Pokerus. Whatever the disease was, it caused a pustule to form on your chest. We had to dig it out or you would have died, and during this whole ordeal the egg that I gave you evolved into a Charmander."

"Wow," May said after a moment's pause. She looked down at her chest and frowned. "How come there's no mark or scar?" she asked.

"Blissey and Sudowudo used Heal Bell to regrow your skin, and then Latias used Recover to regenerate the tissue and blood that was lost. It was incredible the way it reformed; I've never seen anything like it."

"Ah," she said, and yawned. "I'm really tired," she said softly. Ash immediately lowered her down gently onto the bed.

"Sorry, May," he said. "We'll let you sleep."

"Thanks," she said, and then after a moment's pause, "Ash?"

"Yes May?"

"How come nobody put a shirt on me after I was healed?" Ash blushed.

"I'll get you one now," he said hurriedly, stepping out of the recovery room and into the room where May had been operated on.

"Ash," Brock said sombrely when he saw his friend enter. "We've got a major problem."

"What's that?" Ash asked, bending to pick up May's discarded shirt.

"You remember how Professor Oak wasn't answering when May was losing all of that blood?"

"Yeah..."

"Paul was in your house. He wanted the GS Ball and was threatening your Delia with his Scyther. Professor Oak couldn't talk to us because he was trying to stop Paul from hurting her." Ash froze, his heart thundering in his chest.

"And... and does he know that we have it?" he asked.

"He does," Brock said, and hesitated. "I told him when Professor Oak asked whether we still had it; I didn't realize he was there."

"Does he know where we are?" he asked, a dry fear in his throat.

"He does," Brock answered. He stepped forward and looked Ash straight in the eyes. "Ash; he knows where we are and he knows that we can't go anywhere because of May. He's already on his way."

"We're in danger," Ash muttered. He looked up, worry in his eyes. "Maybe I should just give him what he wants," he said quietly. Brock looked at him, aghast.

"You can't!" he said.

"It's just an old Poke Ball," Ash protested.

"You and I both know that's not true," Brock snapped. "There's more to this than what we know at the surface. Mewtwo said that May had a dark presence around her. I don't know why that is, but I'm guessing it was the GS Ball. And what would Paul want with a 400 year-old Poke Ball anyways? It doesn't add up, Ash. Paul was always nasty towards you, but by the time your rivalry finished he was just dark. I don't know why he wants the GS Ball so badly, but the last thing we should do is give it to him."

"So what do we do?" Ash asked hopelessly.

"If I know Paul, he'll use his Pokemon to get the GS Ball for him," Brock said, pacing. "We could get in touch with Lt. Surge, but I don't think he and Forrest combined could hold Paul off for more than a couple of minutes. The only person who has a chance of beating him is you."

"So you think I should battle him for it," Ash said.

"Your Pokemon are the strongest around, and unlike Paul you have more than six with you thanks to your Ex-Dex. And you're the only trainer Paul has ever been afraid of."

"Paul, afraid of me?" Ash snorted.

"It's true, and you know it's true," Brock said quietly. "It's obvious from the way he treated you at the start."

"I don't believe it, but you're right that I'm the only one who has any real chance at beating him," Ash said. He sighed and looked down at Pikachu, sleeping next to the baby Charmander in the tattered remains of May's backpack. He slipped a hand inside his pocket and clenched the ancient GS Ball tightly.

"Looks like we're in for a real battle," he murmured.

* * *

Max looked down at the prone, unconscious body of Drew disdainfully. Dirt matted the Coordinator's once immaculately clean face, and tears coursing down his cheeks had carved deep rivulets in the skin. He looked dead, but the steady rise and fall of his chest revealed the life that remained within.

"You killed her, Drew," he whispered. "She gave you everything, and you gave her Hell."

A great shudder ran down the young trainer's body. Tears sparkled in his eyes, clouding his vision and causing him to take great shuddering gasps. A torrent of unchecked emotions ran through his mind, and he dropped to the ground next to the half-dead man he hated.

"What have I done?" he whispered into the wind. "What have I _done_?"

* * *

**Réexaminer, s'il vous plaît!**


	32. Cyas

**So, here it is; Chapter 32, ahead of schedule. I've actually had this done since Friday; the delay was in trying to add content to this chapter. But it just didn't seem to fit, so I'll put it into the next chapter instead. I've noticed a couple of strange stats with this story recently; the average number of reviews has increased substantially, but the number of views has decreased quite a bit. Up until Chapter 24, I had an average of around 800 views per chapter. At Chapter 24 it surprisingly dropped 300 reads from Chapter 23, made it's way back up to 1100 views for Chapter 26 (which if I recall was the major ContestShipping portion, strangely enough), but since then has dropped quite a bit. Chapter 31 has had only 278 views so far; does anybody know why this may be? What have I done to drive away so many readers of this story? Any ideas?**

* * *

_Two weeks ago..._

It was gone. It was _gone_. The beast let out a shrill scream of rage at the discovery, at the realization... at the loss. Twisting its long, silver neck, it reared back its head and bayed its loss to the sky. The call carried for miles across the oceans and echoed against the rocks of the Whirl Islands. It bayed again, and again. It bayed until its throat was raw and bleeding, and until the sun's first rays began peeking over the horizon.

Its child, its purpose in life and its dedication for 10 years, was gone. It had been taken once before, but had been quickly found then. Given the coldness of the den, it didn't seem likely to be the case this time around. For a brief moment it entertained the faint hope that its child had merely set out for an exploration; after all, it was close to the age when it would leave the nest forever. But no, the human footprints laying fresh on the floor amid several scuffle marks put paid to that fragile hope

The tears slowly stopped flowing as the deep sorrow it felt in its heart became rage. The eyes glinted and hardened as it turned its head towards the rising sun and hissed angrily. The first of the day's warmth struck its feathers, illuminating its dazzling silver plumage. It did not remain there for long. The beast's fury swelled and became so great that the very air began to change.

The sparkles of light playing on the water's surface vanished as the sky returned to darkness, and a chill breeze picked up, causing waves to begin splashing violently against the rocks. A vortex of air began to form, ripping out some nearby vegetation and sending it hurtling away.

The Lugia let out a high, keening shriek of rage and loss before taking to the air and spinning itself into the form of a tight cyclone. With the full power of a hurricane behind it, the legendary Pokemon dove into the sea and swam off, searching for its young. Only a single thought pervaded through its mad rage.

The humans had taken its child; now it would search the globe until it was found, exacting vengeance on any whom it encountered along the way. And woe betide those who had kidnapped the only creature it had left in this world.

As the Lugia moved away from its home, the intensity of the hurricane faded until it vanished altogether. With the first wisps of bright sunlight that emerged from behind the final black cloud, a sudden dazzling ray of light shot upwards, reflecting the strong rays of the sun. This area of the world was almost completely uninhabited; a prime reason why the Lugia had chosen to nest here. It would therefore be over a decade before this object was discovered, although its worth was nigh unmeasureable.

A silver feather.

* * *

_400 years ago..._

It was dark, near midnight. The field glistened with early dew, and a cool breeze ruffled the blades of grass. It was truly the most tranquil of nights. To any passing person or Pokemon, it would have seemed like a typical night in the wilderness; save for the curious pattern of several large stone tablets, and the group of people who stood off to the side.

"The tablets have all been arranged?" the King demanded.

"Yes, my Lord," the captain of his army replied.

"And the Pokemon have all been gathered?" The captain hesitated.

"All save for Ho-Oh, my Lord," he answered in a low tone. "However, if the ancient words are true..."

"If they are false, then this whole endeavour shall be in vain!" the King roared. "Do you in any way realize how difficult it was to find and subdue each Pokemon, let alone keep them secured? It was an almost impossible task!"

"My Lord, as the one who planned out and led the captures, I understand full well just how difficult the task was; Rayquaza, Regice, and Kyogre were almost impossible to reach. And if the ancient words are false, then it would not matter whether we had each legendary Pokemon and the stone tablets, as it would also fail."

"Failure is not an option, Captain," the King growled. "The Cyas Wars have drained Kentou, Shannah, Whoeen, and Gotou of both soldiers and resources. We remained independent, and so are now at our strongest; if we are to seize Cyas before the four forces recover their previous strength, we must act now! With Cyas, no country can stand before us! The whole world will be mine for the taking, and all shall kneel before the King of Pokelantis!" His eyes shone madly, already seeing himself established as the ruler of the known world.

"Yes, my Lord," the Captain said, bowing. He turned and strode off towards the temporary barracks. "Bring the Pokemon!" he ordered the nearest group of men.

The King reached into the folds of his robes and carefully drew out the stone Poke Ball. He examined it for a moment, and then snapped his head upwards. "Smith!" he roared. The short, humpbacked man pushed his way hastily through the nearby crowd of servants, attendants, and guards, panting with the effort.

"Yes, my Lord?" he asked. The King's eyes bored into him.

"You have crafted what I requested?" he asked. The smith swallowed.

"My Lord... It was not as simple as I expected. Metal is not as easy to shape as rock, and it possesses different properties. It took several attempts, and even now I am not sure..."

"_Did you forge it or not?"_ the King roared, causing everyone in the vicinity to jump.

"I... I did, my Lord," the smith whispered.

"Where is it?" the King demanded. Not taking his eyes off the King, the Smith slowly reached into a deep pocket woven into the side of his robe and drew out a beautiful violet-coloured velvet bag, tied tightly with shining silver tassels. He knelt and proffered the bag to the King reverently, who snatched it with little care. Ripping open the delicate tassels, the King upended the bag and dumped its contents into his palm. A stunned gasp rose from all who were nearby.

A smoothly shaped sphere rested in the man's hand. It was roughly the size of a clenched fist, and shone as if it had just been polished. Two runes, representing the initials of the King, were stamped into the surface on the top half of the sphere, but it was the colouring that so stunned the crowd.

The bottom half was a stunning silver, reminiscent of the glow from the night's full moon. Dazzling everyone, it reflected the face of anyone who gazed at it. The top half of the sphere shone a bright gold, perfectly capturing the essence of day's dawn. Separating the two was a dark black band, the width of a single finger, which ran around the center. Just underneath the runes the band formed into a circle, leaving a small silver nub of metal protruding from the sphere. For likely the first time in his life, the King was held speechless by the sight of the beautiful craftsmanship.

"It is to your liking, my Lord?" the smith dared ask. For a moment the King did not respond, and the smith feared the worst.

"It is... a wondrous thing," he said at last, eliciting an audible sigh of relief from the smith. "This is truly a worthy object with which to contain Cyas." He looked up from the sphere and beheld the captain as he approached and knelt.

"My Lord, the casters are in their positions. Each has been properly placed between the stone tablets. All that we require now is your presence." The King nodded.

"Escort me to the center," he ordered. Motioning several guards into a protective formation, the captain fell into step behind the King as they walked towards the large circle of casters and tablets. Several casters moved silently out of the circle, making room for the King to pass through. Once he moved by, they retook their positions.

At the centre of the circle, the King stopped. He gazed first at the sky then turned in a slow circle, ensuring that every caster was in the right location between the tablets. He nodded silently to the Captain who saluted in turn. The guards moved silently out of the circle to stand behind the casters, leaving the King alone. He gazed at the moon and waited. He did not wait long.

A strange shimmering appeared within the moon; it glowed in several colours, and grew swiftly in size. A harsh, yet somehow melodic cry rang faintly out. There would have been murmurs of fear and wonderment were it not for the King's need for silence. Several men shifted uncomfortably; their movements were completely ignored by the King, whose eyes were fixed on the shimmering apparition approaching from within the shape of the moon. Unblinkingly, he watched as it suddenly blazed gold with all the intensity of the sun. It swooped down towards the gathering and let loose a harsh screech, causing many to cringe as it swept directly overhead, its body glowing brilliantly, its eyes staring savagely downward with the colours of the rainbow.

"Ho-Oh..." the King whispered. "After all the plans that you have thwarted, after all the times you have emerged the victor... at long last you shall be mine, and the jewel of my collection. Casters!" he roared, and each man standing between the plates held out a spherical stone at arm's length. From each stone shot a jagged violet beam that caused the hair of each man to stand up on end. The bursts of light collided at the centre of the circle, directly over the King's head. He laughed as he beheld the beams fuse and grow, and at Ho-Oh's surprised screech of pain as a strange purple aura began to drain from its own body and meet with the rest.

"You are powerless," he hissed sibilantly. "There is no escape from the ancient spell; a spell layed down by Cyas itself, the Lord of all Pokemon. Your power will be used for my purpose, to summon and capture Cyas!" He laughed again and, in a low voice, began to recite the ancient words in a strange dialect over and over again.

_From the land and the sea, mine power flows from thee  
__From the earth to the sky, the wet and the dry  
__I rule land, air, and sea._

_Spirit, will, and thoughts  
__Life, death, and dreams  
__I come when I am called  
__Awakened with a scream._

_When hearts are blackened by power corrupt  
__And hatred taints the will of the free  
__My energy is used only to disrupt  
__Call me in a desperate plea._

_Take with you the strength of my sons and daughters  
__And my mortal ties to the earth.  
__I require earth, wind, rock, ice, fire, and water  
__For this world to give me rebirth._

_But heed me now and heed me well;  
__I give and I take away.  
__The arm that created your world and your life  
__Has the hand that shall take it away.  
__Meddle not in the ancient powers  
__My wrath cannot be controlled;  
__If called before the day my presence is required  
__Naught but chaos can unfold._

_If worst comes to worst with the end drawing near  
__My rampage causing naught but harm  
__There is but one way to stay your fears  
__Self-sacrifice stills these arms._

The fused violet beams of light made a sound like a great roar and expanded into a sphere of incredible size. The eighteen plates in the circle began to glow a brilliant and blinding white, before rising several inches into the air and turning so that the inscriptions on each faced the violet sphere. In response, a great formless image appeared from within the gigantic structure, growing larger and larger with each passing moment. The brighter the plates glowed, the larger and more structured the image became.

A maniacal laugh pealed out above the sound of the roaring sphere and the expanding shape within. His arms stretched outwards in desire, the mad King of Pokelantis beheld the apparition with utter glee.

"Cyas, I summon you!" he roared. "You will be mine, and none shall stand before our might! Cyas, I call you now from the void you entered when our world was born. The time has come for you to awaken and serve me as you are meant to! For I have done what the combined forces of Kentou, Gotou, Whoeen, and Shannah could not! I summon you now to this world; Cyas, arise!"

With an earth-shattering scream from within, the purple sphere imploded, blinding every man who did not shield his eyes. A creature unlike any ever seen before by mortal creatures stepped sedately out from the glow to stand easily on the hard ground. A deep rumbling sound came from deep within its throat as it beheld the casters and their stone spheres, sensing what each contained within. Its angry red eyes travelled around the circle, and rearing back its head it let loose a long baying call. There were terrified screams from the casters as the spheres that they held began to shake menacingly. Suddenly, one after the other, the stone spheres exploded, releasing the behemoths contained inside.

The King froze uncertainly as the casters, his servants, and even the guards and soldiers broke ranks and fled. His face paled momentarily as he beheld the entity Cyas stand before him, and the crowd of legendary Pokemon that surrounded them both; the massive Groudon, the solid Regigigas, the intelligent Latios, the fleet Articuno, and the ones who controlled his very existence: Dialga, Palkia, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. He turned once in a long, slow circle, holding the eyes of each Pokemon that gazed at him. Holding up the magnificently coloured metal sphere, he faced Cyas with a sneer upon his face; in response, the legendary entity let loose a bellow that shook the earth to its very core.

"Having summoned you, Cyas, I now claim you as my own," the King roared. "Behold, the GS Pokemon Catcher, named in my honour! These devices allow humans to capture and control any creature!" Cyas snarled menacingly, a harsh, guttural sound; but this time, the vocalizations were accompanied by telepathy.

_Foolish human; my will cannot be controlled by beings as weak as you. I have seen how you imprisoned my brethren, and now you have seen how easily I was able to destroy your cages. No force you create can hope to contain me. _

"But this is much stronger than the rocks used to capture the legendary Pokemon," the King whispered. "Into the GS Pokemon Catcher, the spirit of my greatest nemesis has been imbibed. Yes, Ho-Oh, the one who has thwarted so many of my plans in the past, unwittingly assisted me with this endeavour. Several months ago, Ho-Oh dropped a single feather at my feet after halting my army's march against Pokemopolis. My smith used the power of this feather in the flame that was used to forge this magnificent catching device." He sighed theatrically. "The power and strength of Ho-Oh flows through this sphere, this ball. You have no hope of escape."

Grinning wickedly, the evil King raised the golden and silver ball above his head, pointing it at the entity.

"Cyas, I call you to my side! With the power of Ho-Oh, you are mine!"

A glistening red beam shot from the centre of the GS Ball, on dead course for Cyas. The entity vanished, reappearing behind the King almost instantaneously.

_You are naught but foolish_, the entity rumbled. _You have summoned me for the purpose of greed. My arms created your earth and your life; now they shall be reclaimed. Human, your life is mine._

Letting loose a high, bellowing shriek, Cyas opened its red maw and lunged forwards. The King screamed in terror as the massive mouth closed around his body and the front teeth dug into the ground around his feet. He felt his body become suddenly inverted as Cyas lifted its head and swallowed. The dark, pulsing walls of the throat pummelled his body and forced him to slide ever onwards down the esophagus.

"You were mine," he wailed, flailing around as best as he could, striking the walls of the throat with the GS Ball. "You were mine!"

The legendary Pokemon watched impassively as Cyas's mouth closed around the mad King, and swallowed him. For a moment, all was silent. And then, seemingly from within, Cyas's body began to glow a deep red. A look of surprised pain spread across the entity's face and then, in a cloud of energy, its body writhed and contorted into a scarlet cloud which condensed inwards.

With a wet and somewhat slimy thump, the King of Pokelantis fell from midair to land painfully on the ground. His eyes reflected astonishment as the beam of red energy that had once been Cyas was sucked slowly into the GS Ball. For several moments, the Ball writhed violently, so violently that the King feared it would break. But the power of Ho-Oh held true, and after a time the Ball ceased moving.

"Cyas is mine," the King muttered, surprise and delight in his tone. "Cyas is _mine_!" He laughed raucously, but his delight did not last for long. With a deafening scream, Ho-Oh lunged downwards, its rainbow-hued body sizzling with rage. The King did the only thing he possibly could; he ran.

An intense jet of fire burst from Ho-Oh's mouth, lapping along the ground and scorching the King's robes. The King only ran faster, laughing madly as he tried to escape the ferocious flames. An unsighted root proved his undoing, as the King tripped and fell forwards, tumbling end over end. His grip on the GS Ball was lost, and it flew unsighted into a nearby stream where it sank and slowly drifted off with the current.

Spitting out dirt, the King rolled over onto his back and beheld the terrifying sight of Ho-Oh descending, its talons and beak outstretched. Blindly, he groped for what he thought was the GS Ball beneath his body; he held it out at arm's length and called.

"Cyas, I summon you now! Protect your master from the savage Ho-Oh!"

A feeling of blankness and dread spread across his body as he realized that it was not the GS Ball he held, but the stone sphere; worse, the small opening was pointing not at Ho-Oh, but at himself. His vision slowly faded out into a violet spectrum as the purple aura flowed from the stone and enveloped his body. As the atoms of his body broke apart, disintegrating him into a pure energy, he writhed and struggled, letting out a high-pitched scream of pain as he tried to avoid his own imprisonment. It was to no avail. The last thing he saw before he vanished from the world for centuries to come was the face of Ho-Oh staring down at him.

"I was King," he screamed, sobbing bitterly as the darkness claimed him; "I was _King_!"

And then he knew no more.

* * *

**Well, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter; it's much shorter than the last one but about the same length as most of the others, so I hope you aren't too disappointed with it! And hey, just over a week in between updates is absolutely fantastic for me! Especially considering updates have only occured monthly since the new year (S). I'm glad to finally get these portions introduced/wrapped up though; the first part should have been written, oh, about ten chapters ago. Better late than never though, I guess.**


	33. Reclaim

**Well, here it is at last; a month after the last one. I really need to pick up the pace on this. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter. There's lots of action, and a little surprise at the end!**

* * *

As the flashlight beams broke around the corner James turned with a Poke Ball in hand, instinctively shielding his eyes when the light shone onto his face. He heard several intakes of surprise and so enlarged his Poke Ball, ready to fight his way out.

"James?" a pair of voices said incredulously.

"Cassidy! Butch!" he exclaimed, squinting past the light. "What are you doing here?"

"If you'd asked us a couple of days ago, the answer would have been to kill you," Cassidy snarled. "As it is, we're on a secret mission for Giovanni. I hope you're not here to get in our way, for your sake."

"What do you mean, 'for my sake'?" James asked loudly, his hand clenching the Poke Ball tightly. "Are you threatening me?"

"You'd just better hope that you don't antagonize me enough to start a battle," she retorted. "You don't want to end up the same way that Jessie and Meowth did." James felt his heart pound at the names of his partners.

"What did you do to them?" he demanded. Cassidy's earlier words came to mind, and for a minute he thought his heart had failed. "Don't tell me that... they can't be dead!"

"They almost were, until some punk kid stopped us at the end," Cassidy growled. "Their resistance was absolutely pathetic. It was too easy to beat them. I can't imagine you'd be any more difficult than them."

"Let me guess, four Pokemon against two... or was it five on two? If it was an even fight you wouldn't find Jessie and Meowth so easy to beat." He snorted. "Good luck in trying to take me down, one on one!"

"For your information, it was two on three," Cassidy growled, her eyes sparking dangerously. "And even when that punk kid interfered, he barely stopped us. It's time for you to learn what true power looks like; maybe that will teach you some respect! Houndoom, Raticate! Destroy him!"

"Wheezing, Cacnea! Go!" James roared.

The four Pokemon stood stock-still, glaring at one another. The Houndoom took a step forwards, and James's Wheezing instantly moved to protect his trainer. The tension in the air grew enormously as everyone waited for the other to make the first move.

"Stop this," Butch shouted, pushing his way past Cassidy. "This tunnel isn't designed for Pokemon battles; if you two start a fight, it'll collapse on top of us." He turned to James. "We're on a mission for Giovanni; why are you here?" he asked. James looked at him strangely for a moment before answering.

"I'm here with Paul; Giovanni's son," he said. "Were both looking for an ancient object; I was told to search in the lab while he looked in Pallet Town."

"Isn't it just a little bit possible that we're both looking for the same thing?" Butch asked.

"It's possible," James said after a pause.

"It's possible, but that's not the case, we're not after the GS Ball" a tall stranger said as he stepped out from the darkness behind Cassidy, his slight accent amplified in the silent tunnel.

"You look familiar," James said slowly, scrutinizing the young man. His unkempt blue hair hung down his back, and he wore his clothes in a completely carefree manner, a pair of sunglasses dangling from a gold chain around his neck. "And how do you know what I'm looking for?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you've seen me around at HQ before," he said carelessly. "I'm Damian; Giovanni's second son, which would also explain why I know what you're after. And despite what this quick-tempered woman seems to think, we're both on the same side."

"Damian? Now I remember you!" James blurted. "Ten years ago you abandoned a Charmander in the forest!"

"What? That weak little thing?" Damian chuckled. "I can't believe you actually remember something like that; I'd forgotten all about that weakling years ago. Now, are we gonna stand here jawing all night, or are you going to enter the password so we can get on with our searches?" James eyed the three warily.

"I want those Pokemon recalled before I turn my back," he said. "I don't trust they won't attack me given our, ah, _combative_ history."

"Cassy?" Damian asked impatiently when she made no move to retrieve her Houndoom and Raticate.

"I've told you before; the name's Cassidy, not Cassy!" she snapped.

"I couldn't care less what your name is if you do your job. Now get those Pokemon back in their Poke Balls before the sun rises and we get caught by Oak and the rest!" Damian snapped back. Grumbling, Cassidy recalled both her Pokemon and James turned to punch in the code he'd been given.

"G...R...E..." he muttered, taking care each letter was in order, "L... O... W... Got it!" he said triumphantly as the keypad beeped, flashed green, and the pneumatic door slid open silently. Retrieving Cacnea and Wheezing, James stepped into the room, shielding his eyes automatically as a series of bright lights illuminated the dark room.

"Look!" Butch called from behind James's shoulder, pointing at the far wall. "There's one hanging on the wall!"

"This'll be too easy," Cassidy muttered, walking towards a large, spherical slab of stone and taking care to knock into James on her way.

James didn't even notice the provocation; his eyes were fixed on the stone, his lips suddenly dry. It looked to be roughly two feet long and fairly thick; from where he was standing, he could barely make out an inscription on the deep-red surface.

"The Original One breathed alone before the universe came," Butch read aloud, noticing James's interest, before turning to the next. "The rightful bearer of a Plate draws from the Plate it holds." James felt a slight shiver creep up his spine at the sound of that inscription. He was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the light green stone that was securely fastened inside his bag back in the field.

"Damian, there's only fifteen plates here," Cassidy reported. "We're missing three."

"Which ones?" he snapped.

"The Insect Plate, the Zap Plate, and the Unknown Plate," she answered.

"Keep looking," he said. "They may still be here, hidden away somewhere. James, if you see any stones like the ones on the wall hidden away while you look for the GS Ball, tell us right away."

"Sure," James replied, his mind still on the stone wrapped in with his belongings. For a few moments, all was silent as the four rummaged through the room. James found himself slowly gravitating towards Damian as the time passed, until they were standing only a few feet apart; he chuckled humourlessly.

"What?" Damian asked in obvious irritation.

"You were wrong, you know," James said. "You were wrong about the Charmander."

"Are you still strung up on that weak little thing?" Damian asked with a snort. "It's been ten years; forget about it already."

"Weak?" he asked. "That little Charmander became the strongest Pokemon I've ever had the misfortune to battle against. Five years ago, as a Charizard, it beat an Articuno in battle!" He eyed Damian coldly. "The only weak one is you for releasing it and not letting it grow with care." He shook his head. "You're just like your brother," he murmured.

Anger flared briefly in Damian's eyes, but he quickly masked his emotions. "You don't say," he said mildly. "Well if I ever have the opportunity to go against that Charizard, you'll see just who the weak one is. Now if you don't have anything worth saying, stand aside so I can get on with my search." James opened his mouth to reply, but was halted by the sound of his loaned Poketch beeping.

"Paul?" he asked, flipping the device open and revealing the communication screen.

"Get back out here now," Paul snapped. "The sun's starting to rise; you're wasting time in there. I found out from that idiot of a Professor where the GS Ball is, and we're going to go get it now."

"Where is it?" James asked quickly.

"Just get out here and follow me on your Wheezing. You'll find out soon enough," Paul said, before brusquely cutting off the communication. James stared at the blank screen for a moment before turning to the other occupants of the room.

"Good luck with your search; I hope you find that green plate of yours," he said. His eyes rested on Cassidy, pure contempt radiating towards her.

"Next time we meet, you'd better be ready to beg for your life," she growled.

"I can't wait," he said mockingly, exiting the room. Silence passed for several moments, and then Damian turned to Butch.

"Did you tell him what the Insect Plate looks like?" he asked.

"No," he replied.

"Did you?" he asked Cassidy.

"No," she answered slowly.

"Then how did he know what it looks like?" Damian asked. Realization suddenly hit Butch, and Cassidy began trembling with anger.

"You mean... you mean to say..." she growled, rage clouding every syllable.

"How do we get it now?" Butch asked.

"Easy," Damian snarled, a shadow crossing over his face. "We follow him and take it from him. Looks like you get your chance to battle him after all, Cassidy."

"I can't wait," she growled, punching a fist into her palm. "I can't wait."

* * *

Silver grinned at the sound of the security alarms going off. In the few days since his escape, he'd scoped out the exterior of the Team Rocket headquarters with the help of the baby Fearow. They'd quickly found a way of getting 

inside, although it meant climbing several stories of the building that had been carved into the mountainside. It hadn't bothered him unduly; he'd free-climbed both steeper and higher in his lifetime. What he hadn't anticipated was the alarms going off when he broke through a window to climb into the building. Now he crouched almost panther-like, hidden in the shadows of the curving corridor, waiting. He didn't have to wait long.

A Rocket Grunt trotted down the hallway towards the security room, on his way to see what had caused the alarms to go off. A thick, meaty hand clamped around his mouth and another round his neck. He was swiftly dragged back into the shadows and came face to face with the only person he had ever seen who rivalled Giovanni in size. But in a hand-to-hand fight with this man, Giovanni would lose. The Grunt had no doubt about that in the least. This man who held him in such a deadly embrace had a strength that Giovanni did not, and there was both rage and savagery in his eyes.

"Seen my Poke Balls?" Silver asked him softly, tightening his grip around the man's neck ever so slightly. The Grunt's eyes darted around the area, terrified. "It's just you and me, kiddo," Silver whispered. "We're all alone here." He noticed the fear in the Grunt's eyes and chuckled.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you. No, I'm going to look into your eyes as you answer my questions, and if I see even an iota of deception in them, then my friend here," he nodded at the baby Fearow perched on his shoulder, "is going to gore out your eyes with its Drill Peck. Understand?" The Grunt nodded as fast as Silver's grip would permit, his eyes wide.

"Good. Now; do you know where my Poke Balls are?" The Grunt nodded. "Where are they?" he asked, taking his hand away from the Grunt's mouth. The Grunt began shaking, and didn't answer. "Where are they?" Silver demanded. Tears began leaking from the Grunt's eyes, but still his mouth remained immobile. "I'm going to give you one last chance, and if you don't answer me then I'll make sure you never speak again. I ask you again; _where are my Poke Balls!_"

"In the security room," the Grunt whispered, tears streaming down his face. Silver nodded, thinking, and then hit the man in the forehead with a swift rabbit punch. The Grunt collapsed, instantly unconscious.

"A loyal fool, but a fool regardless," Silver grunted, stripping the man of his uniform. "He'd be much better doing something decent for a living; why people join these evil organizations when they're treated like such scum is just beyond me."

He dropped his coat to the ground and began trying to squeeze into the Grunt's uniform. It was a tighter fit than he anticipated but he managed to get it on, although there were several inches of arm, leg, and his grey undershirt visible. He grabbed the black cap and placed it on his head, ensuring that his long grey mane was tightly rolled up underneath.

"Well, how do I look?" he asked the Fearow. It squawked in response and he smiled grimly. "It won't be on long; once I've got my Chikorita and Salamence, no Rocket will be able to stop me. As for this man..." he said, looking at the unconscious Grunt with menace in his eyes.

* * *

The Grunt groaned, waking slowly from his unconsciousness. His head hurt like hell; no surprise really, not after a fast punch like that. He tried to get to his feet, but fell. He tried again, and again, each time with the same result. That was when he realized he was surrounded on all sides by thick, rough material. Squinting, he looked up and saw small peeks of sunlight poking through the rough knots. With fumbling fingers, he managed to untie some of them and pushed his head through the gap he'd created.

He got the shock of his life.

Cold wind rushed against his face, and when he looked down he could see both the forest and hard earth beneath him. He was trapped inside of a makeshift sack.

Tied to the mountainside that made up headquarters.

* * *

The gigantic man burst through the doors of the Pokemon Centre, eliciting shrieks of surprise from the few patrons who were still awake at this time. He immediately spotted Forrest sitting with Dawn in a far corner, and stormed his way over. A scared Rey skidded through the doors several yards behind him; spotting the man cracking his knuckles as he approached the Pewter City Gym Leader, she took off running, trying her best keep up with his long strides.

"Boy!" he roared. "I hear you've been insulting this girl behind me!" He jabbed his finger over his shoulder at Rey.

"I did," Forrest admitted after some hesitation. "And I would have apologized if she hadn't stormed off the way she did." The man stooped low so that his face was eye-to-eye with Forrest.

"Please... don't hurt him," Rey whispered, her face white. It was obvious enough in her eyes that if these two fought, the gigantic man would snap Forrest like a twig. "I'm sure he didn't mean it, and I said some nasty things too." The man ignored her.

"I want a fight," he growled, and the little colour that was left drained out of Rey's face; she turned to Dawn, a sick expression on her face. Dawn ignored her, her eyes full of concern as she looked down on Forrest. The man noted the expression in her eyes; concern, to be sure... and something more, perhaps..?

"I guess I have no choice," Forrest said slowly, meeting the man's gaze. Rey gasped, and Dawn turned to the young Gym Leader.

"Don't do it Forrest, you'll be torn apart!" she begged.

"A Gym Leader never refuses a challenge," he answered softly, refusing to look her in the eyes. "Shall we take this outside?" he asked the man.

"A great idea," he growled, turning and storming back out the doors.

"You don't have to do this, Forrest," Dawn whispered.

"I'll be okay," he answered, giving her a quick wink. "Just you watch." He turned and followed the man out of the doors. Dawn looked at Rey, gave her head a great shake of disgust, and walked out after him. Trembling and white-faced, Rey trailed miserably behind.

* * *

Ash sat next to May's bed, unmoving. From where Brock watched at the doorway, he appeared to be asleep. But the breeder knew that he was not.

"Ash, you should get some sleep," he said softly, approaching the trainer. "It's 2 am. Paul can't get here until tomorrow morning at the absolute earliest. You need to rest in case he arrives before we can leave."

"I can't," Ash whispered hoarsely back, his voice thick with exhaustion. "She needs me here... I need to be here... I can't sleep on her. What if something goes wrong?"

"Blissey is outside the door, and Nurse Joy's office is just down the corridor," Brock answered. "And besides, nothing will go wrong. The operation was dangerous, but the Heal Bell and Recover regenerated her blood and tissue perfectly. She won't even have a scar. It took a lot out of her, and what she needs at the moment is rest to get back her strength."

"I should be here for when she wakes up," Ash protested stubbornly. Brock sighed, and knew his friend would not be persuaded otherwise.

"Alright Ash... try not to exhaust yourself too much. I guess we can always fly out tomorrow so you can rest then." He clapped the trainer on the back and turned to leave the room. "Come on, Pikachu," he said. "Let's leave them alone for a bit."

"Chaah," Pikachu yawned, nodding in agreement. He sprinted up onto Brock's shoulder and the two left the room, Brock shutting the door softly behind them.

Ash continued to sit at May's side, his eyes unmoving from her face. Time lost all meaning as he gazed on her, her visage becoming his whole world. He did not notice his slowly diminishing range of vision, or the blurriness that accompanied it. He was not even aware of the darkness that claimed his consciousness as exhaustion and worry finally caught up to him.

His head collapsed onto the mattress, his face turned towards hers as the sleep he had been depriving himself of claimed him at last.

* * *

Dawn followed Forrest nervously as he went around the side of the Pokemon Centre. Her mind was filled with concern for the well-being of the slight, young Gym Leader. Several bright lights snapped on, and she winced as they scorched her retinas. Shielding her eyes, she slowly became accustomed to the glare and was both surprised and relieved to find herself standing on the sidelines of a battlefield.

"One-on-one okay with you?" the man shouted.

"I'm more of a two-on-two battler, but its fine by me!" Forrest shouted back.

"Great," the man grunted. He turned to Rey, who was only just drifting into the field. "One-on-one okay with you too?" he asked. She blinked.

"What?" she asked. The man sighed.

"Seems to me as if there's some real bad blood between the two of you," he said. "I always find that the best way to get that stuff out of my system is with a good and intense Pokemon battle! It's you against Forrest, so is one-on-one okay with you?"

"I guess," she said, still a little confused.

"Good! Then get over to the battle box!"

"What about a referee?" Dawn asked.

"As the Vermillion City Gym Leader, I'm fully qualified as a referee," the man answered, striding over to the halfway mark on the sidelines. "Now, choose your Pokemon!" he roared to Forrest and Rey.

"Steelix! Go!" Forrest shouted, releasing the gigantic and menacing snake-like Pokemon.

"A ground-type; alright!" Rey said, finally gathering her wits about her. "Then I'll go with Venusaur!" The ground shook as the massive Grass-type emerged and roared in anticipation.

"Surge, this was what you were going for all along, wasn't it?" Forrest shouted. Lt. Surge grinned.

"Seemed like you two needed some time alone to sort out your issues, and this is the best way to do it!" he shouted back, raising both arms in the air. "Begin!"

* * *

May's eyes fluttered open. For a brief moment she couldn't remember what had happened, but then the memories rushed back into her consciousness. She instinctively reached a hand to her breast and was relieved to find that, not only did it feel undamaged beneath her hospital shirt, but there was no pain either.

"Latias is an amazing healer," she murmured, glad to know that her body was unchanged. She lay her arm back down and instantly jerked it back again when she felt it come into contact with something hairy. Turning her head to see what she had touched, she relaxed when she recognized Ash, his eyes closed, his breathing shallow, his face trained on hers in his sleep.

"You stayed by me, all this time when I was asleep," she whispered, her heart melting at the realization. "Still... you really shouldn't be sleeping like this." Tentatively, she sat up, placed her feet on the floor, and climbed out of bed. She had to catch her balance quickly as a wave of dizziness crashed against her, but it quickly passed. Moving around the side of the bed, she felt suddenly pleased. Her balance seemed to have improved from the ordeal, and when she reached Ash and tried to lift him up, he felt much lighter than he ordinarily would have done.

She managed to get him into a fireman's lift over her shoulder and carried him over to the door. Holding him carefully, she was able to squeeze the door open and slip through. "Which way to your bedroom?" she murmured to herself.

"B-54" he muttered, still fast asleep. Stifling a giggle at his automatic response, May set off in the direction of his room.

* * *

Silver strolled into the Rocket's security room with the Fearow on his shoulder, holding his hands behind his back and whistling a jaunty tune.

"You're late, S34," a large, coarse man growled.

"My apologies, Mr... ah... Tyson," Silver answered, reading the man's nametag surreptitiously. "I was called in to see Giovanni while on patrol."

"Well that would explain why the alarm went off in your sector," Tyson grunted, before turning back to the rest of the security agents already gathered in the room. "Now, the alarm went off in Security Sector 34. We don't know what caused it; the cameras shorted out only moments before the incident happened. What we can guess is..." he trailed off, realizing that Silver was still standing behind him, looking innocently around the room. "_Back in line, S34_!" he roared, flecks of spit shooting out and hitting him in the chin.

Silver casually wiped the spit off his face, flicking it to the ground, before responding "Yes, _sir_," in a slightly insulting manner and moving into the crowd.

"What we can guess," Tyson continued, ignoring him, "is that an unknown person or Pokemon broke into or out of the building. What they are or were after is anyone's guess, but I want you all to divide up into teams of two. Sweep the building and outside perimeter, and report in at ten minutes intervals or when you've found something important. Go; S34, stay here a moment."

Silver had lost the thread of the conversation from his scanning of the room. He winked at the Fearow on his shoulder and nodded in the direction of glass cabinet, the only storage area in the room under lock and key.

"S34!" Tyson roared, jerking Silver back into awareness.

"Yessir! Understood!" he said smartly, jerking into a rough salute. Tyson glared at him and waved the other agents out of the room.

"Sit down," he growled. "I don't appreciate your insubordination, S34. I don't think you understand just how dangerous this situation is. A dangerous man broke out of here two days ago, and he could be after Giovanni. We need to find and contain him now. I have no doubt that he's looking for the Poke Balls we took off of him."

"You mean the Poke Balls in that cabinet over there?" Silver asked innocently. Tyson looked taken aback for a moment, and then suspicious.

"Wait a minute..." he breathed, ripping off the cap on Silver's head. "Red alert, red alert," he began shouting into the commlink at his belt. "Silver has broken in, I repeat; _Silver has broken in_. He-"

Silver lunged, ripping the commlink out of Tyson's hands and smashing it against the wall. "Oh no you don't," he breathed, clamping an arm around his neck. "Fearow, go!" The baby Fearow leapt off of Silver's shoulder and flew for the cabinet, its beak spinning and aimed at the lock.

"Red alert... red alert..." a cool, pre-recorded female voice spoke from the intercom on the wall. "Moltres is loose; Moltres is loose. Special Forces being deployed for retrieval; all others take cover. Red alert... red alert..."

Tyson struggled with all his worth against Silver's grip. Silver winced as teeth dug into his arm, legs kicked at him madly, and his arms were scored with scratches. "Enough of this," Silver growled, lifting Tyson with both arms and heaving him bodily against the wall. The Security Agent collapsed amid the debris that fell from the impact, unconscious.

The lock on the cabinet snapped open, and the Fearow squawked in triumph. Silver ran over and wrenched the door open, gathering up the four Poke Balls inside. The room shook violently, and Silver pocketed the Poke Balls quickly before calling the Fearow to his side. "Hold on kid, this is going to be rough," he shouted as the room trembled more and more.

"There he is!" a voice shouted from the hallway; Silver turned and saw four of the Security Grunts. "Get him!" one of them shouted, and all four began charging towards him. The floor gave way beneath their feet, and all four screamed in shock as they fell. A massive blur of moving flame appeared from the gap and burst headfirst into the exterior wall. Silver looked to the window and grinned as he saw Moltres fly past, finally free from its imprisonment.

"You won't... get away..." Tyson gasped, slowly coming around and crawling towards Silver painfully.

"I already have," Silver replied, grabbing one of the Poke Balls in his pocket. He walked back a few steps and ran through the closed window, disappearing from sight amid the shattered glass.

For a moment, Tyson could barely believe what had happened. Then the massive shape of a Salamence swooped past the window, and he let out a howl of rage at the sound of Silver's mocking laughter before collapsing into unconsciousness once again.

Outside, Silver held onto his Salamence tightly, revelling in the freedom that had been denied to them both for so long. He urged his Salamence on faster as he tried to catch up to Moltres, loving the feel of the wind in his long unkempt hair. "Let's go!" he roared, the Fearow on one shoulder and his beloved Chikorita on the other.

An intense blast of yellow light smashed directly into Moltres from above, sending it screeching into the ground where it lay pinned under the Hyper Beam. Too far away to see what was happening properly, Silver was stunned when the Legendary bird glowed white and turned to stone. "What?" he shouted in disbelief.

"It's been a long time, Silver," a cold, calculating voice said. He looked up and saw a second Salamence slowly descending from the clouds, Hunter J standing calmly on its back.

"Cousin!" he said mockingly. "What a coincidence! You're just in time to battle!"

* * *

May lay Ash gently on his bed before returning to the doorway. She stayed there a moment, watching him sleep silently. Warmth filled her heart as she thought about how he had been by her side from the moment she had collapsed. He had been with her when she was operated on, he had snapped her out of her delirium... he hadn't even left her so he could sleep.

The thoughts flowed through her mind, preoccupying her so much that she didn't realize she was slowly drifting towards him. She didn't realize when he opened his eyes and whispered her name. She wasn't even aware of kissing him on his forehead. But when he kissed her softly back, she regained her sense of reality and gladly slipped beneath the covers with him.

To Ash, in his sleep deprived and mentally exhausted state, she did not appear so much to be May as she did an ethereal Goddess. He was held by the spell of her tender beauty; by the way she locked her arms and legs around him; by the way their lips melted together, and they moved as one. Curious sensations filled them both as they lay together, slight gasping noises echoing around the room. There was a sudden surge and then May felt an intense, burning sensation of pain that was slowly replaced by a state of euphoria.

Exhausted and trembling, May rolled out of the bed and made her unsteady way back to her room on shaky legs.

* * *

"Bye," Dawn called out cheerfully to Nurse Joy the next morning. "Thanks for everything!"

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Ash agreed. 'If it wasn't for you we would have never been able to get that thing out of May. We owe you everything."

"You owe me nothing," Nurse Joy countered, smiling. "It's my job to help out anybody who needs it, in whatever form possible."

"Well, thanks anyways," Ash said. "Things could have turned out a lot worse if you hadn't helped us out." Nurse Joy waved the thanks off and turned to Forrest.

"Are you going back to Pewter City now?" she asked. Forrest shook his head.

"I'm going to stay here and train with Lt. Surge for a while longer; he's still got a lot to teach me about girls!" he said with a wink towards Dawn and Rey. Lt. Surge laughed and cuffed his head, while Dawn gave a little blush. Rey merely harrumphed in response. Her battle with Forrest had been a close one, but he beat her at the very end. Still, she supposed that in a way, Lt. Surge had been right. She may have lost the battle, but she didn't feel nearly as antagonistic towards the young Gym Leader as she did before.

"Hey, Ash; I've got something for you," Lt. Surge said, beckoning him over, a wrapped package in his hand.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, taking it from the large Gym Leader. Surge shrugged.

"Dunno. It's something called a 'Zap Plate', but I have no clue what it does. It's the traditional inheritance of a Vermillion City Gym Leader, and has been passed down for at least three hundred years. Professor Oak wanted to study it, so could you give it to him when you see him next?" Ash nodded. "Thanks, kid. Good luck in your rematch with Cynthia!"

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Ash grinned. He turned to Forrest. "See you around soon?"

"You know it," the Gym Leader smiled. "Bye everyone!"

"Bye!" Ash, Brock, May, Dawn, and Rey all chorused in returned.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

As they walked down the road out of town, Ash dropped back a little to talk with May. Unlike her, he had no recollection of the night before, and so she seemed very quiet and subdued to his perception. "Are you okay, May?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Ash, I'm fine," she said. "I'm just a little tired, that's all. Really." Reassured, Ash nodded and increased his pace to catch up with Brock and Rey. May sighed as the stared after him. In reality, her hips ached, and there was a dull pain from deep within her body. But she didn't care.

She had never felt more alive.


	34. Plan

**Wow. I am in shock. I think this is the fastest update I've done since last year. You must all be pretty surprised! And, as of this update, exactly 250 reviews have been given to this story on here. All I can say to that is thank you. Thank you for reading and reviewing this story. It makes me feel incredibly good, and proud that you all enjoy what I've written so far. **

* * *

The blue creature padded softly through the forest. It was tired. It was hungry. It was lost, lonely, and it was scared. Thick tears splashed from its jagged eyes as it walked. Since it's return to consciousness after being hurled away by the explosion, that was all it had done. It ate and drank what little it could find as it moved, and had not even stopped to sleep. It was desperate to find a hint, any hint, of civilization. Of humans.

For days now it had wandered in this dark, decrepit part of the forest, likely going around in large circles, but unable to do anything but. The thick foliage prevented it from using the sun or stars to navigate, and it had become so used to being airborne that it had forgotten what other signs it could look for. It stumbled briefly, tripping over a root. Only it's sheer determination to find its trainer kept it from falling, although its movements were slowly becoming more and more erratic. It was in dire need of help.

Exhausted, starving, and dehydrated, it did not notice when it at last came upon what it had searched for all this time; a path, leading out of the forest. It did not notice the sudden spurt of heat from the sun that struck the top of its head, or the feel of the hard and dusty ground as it slowly collapsed, its strength and stamina completely gone. It did not notice when its vision flickered and faded, or when the pains that wracked its body came to a halt.

It did not know that it was dying.

* * *

Dawn noticed it first, a seemingly grotesque blue lump that lay in the shadows along the side of the path. It would have been unnoticeable had it not given a slight twitch, it's colouring almost impossible to discern amid the darkness cast by the trees along the edge of the trail.

"What is that?" she murmured, coming to a halt. Rey, who had been chatting animatedly with Brock and not noticed that the Coordinator had stopped, crashed right into her, knocking them both down in a tangle of limbs. Brock sighed as he helped extricate them while Ash and the slowly-moving May caught up to them.

"What exactly was the whole point of that, Dawn?" Rey groused as she clambered back to her feet, her skirt now caked with dust. Dawn sighed.

"I asked what that thing was," she said, pointing into the shadows, "but you were too busy yapping to hear me." Rey opened her mouth to issue a sharp retort, but May was intrigued and cut across her snarky comeback.

"What thing?" she asked, peering into the growth. "I can't see anything."

"I can," Brock said, suddenly sounding worried. He strode into the shadows on the opposite side of the path and let out an exclamation. "It's a Wobbuffet! And it's in really bad shape."

"How bad?" Ash asked, running over.

"Critical," Brock answered, checking the Pokemon's eyes, heart rate, temperature, muscle response, and hydration. "It's in worse shape than I've ever seen a Pokemon in my life. If we don't get it to a Pokemon Centre now, it's going to die."

"What's wrong with it?" Rey asked.

"It's dehydrated," Brock answered. "It looks as though it hasn't slept in days either. It may be that its water source dried up for some reason, so it's spent the last few days looking for a new one, without stopping to sleep."

"How long does it have?" Dawn asked, a bite of fear in her voice. Brock did a couple more quick checks before answering.

"Hours, if that."

"We've got water; can't we just pour some down its throat?" Rey asked. Brock shook his head adamantly.

"It's too far gone for that," he said. "It drove itself so hard that it collapsed from exhaustion. The only thing its body can do now is breathe, which means that its epiglottis won't function. If we give it a drink, the water will just run down into its lungs and it'll drown." May shuddered at the sound of that.

"Is it just me, or does this Wobbuffet look familiar?" Ash asked, leaning in for a closer look and frowning. "Could it be Team Rocket's Wobbuffet?"

"You think it got separated?" Dawn asked, confused.

"Team Rocket have been blasted off so many times that I really wouldn't be surprised if one of them were to get separated eventually," Ash answered. Brock grabbed a Poke Ball from his belt, enlarged it, and gently tapped the Wobbuffet with the button at the centre. A red light formed over the Pokemon, but before it could get sucked into the Poke Ball the light disintegrated.

"Well, it's not wild, whatever it is," he decided. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples; what he had to say wouldn't be received well.

"It's impossible, Brock," May said softly, and he snapped his gaze towards her, surprised. "You say the Wobbuffet only has hours to live. Vermillion City is over a day away now."

"We deliberately went in the wrong direction and took a long detour around the city to try and throw Paul off our trail," Brock countered.

"And it took us two days to do that; you won't make it in time, especially not if ou have to carry it. And what if Paul is still there?"

"He's looking for Ash, not me."

"He heard you on the videophone with Oak; he knows that you're travelling with Ash. And what if he tries to use you as bait to lure Ash to him?" Brock paced angrily, every one of his arguments being eroded.

"So what do we do?" he yelled. "Leave it to die?"

"No; we keep going to Anabel's," Ash broke in.

"That's even further away than Vermillion City!" Brock shouted in exasperation. "How are we supposed to get there on time, hmm?"

"We're too far north to go to Viridian City," Ash answered. "The Vermillion area is too dangerous because of Paul, which leaves the Battle Tower as our only option."

"You still haven't said how we're supposed to get there," Brock growled. In response Ash tossed four Poke Balls into the air, releasing Charizard, Pidgeot, Latias, and Staraptor.

"We fly," he answered.

* * *

Anabel wasn't entirely certain when Ash and his friends would be arriving. With him, it could be anywhere between a couple of days and a couple of months. So she wasn't exactly expecting it when, as she took a rare moment to relax on the Battle Tower, a Pidgeot appeared on the horizon, clutching something blue in its talons. She was even more surprised when it landed on the balcony and deposited what appeared to be a dangerously weak Wobbuffet at her feet.

"Hello," she said, a little uncertainly. "Umm... I hope this doesn't seem too rude, but why have you brought me a Wobbuffet?"

"I can explain," Rey answered tensely, jumping from the back of a hovering Staraptor onto the balcony. Anabel almost had a heart attack. "I'm a friend of Ash's," Rey said quickly. "We were on our way here and found this Wobbuffet on the side of the road. It's suffering from extreme dehydration and exhaustion. It's almost dead, and may only have minutes left now."

Anabel nodded and quickly called out her Alakazam. "Take this girl and Wobbuffet and teleport them both to the hospital wing. Now!" The Alakazam spared time for a quick nod before it vanished, taking the girl and the Pokemon with it.

The Salon Maiden held a hand to her heart and took several deep breaths, turning and leaning against the railing. The girl had given her a real scare, but it could hardly be helped. Besides, she was there on Ash's behalf. And if Ash needed something done, she'd gladly do whatever it was. The realization that Ash was on his way made her groan inwardly. Pidgeot and Staraptor were incredibly fast flyers, but he wouldn't be too far behind them.

"I won't even have time to change, let alone clean the place up," she moaned, keeping her face glued to the horizon. As anticipated, she didn't have long to wait; in a matter of moments three shapes became discernable above the tree line. They quickly resolved themselves into identifiable shapes; a Charizard, a legendary Latias, and most bizarrely, what appeared to be a flying Sudowoodo.

"Good to see you all again," she shouted as they came in to land, May and Dawn on Charizard closely followed by Ash on Latias. "Could you call ahead next time so I can clean up?" May slid off of Charizard and fondly embraced the violet-haired trainer.

"Good to see you too, Anabel."

"Where's the Wobbuffet?" Brock asked as he jumped off of Sudowoodo, not wasting time on a greeting.

"In the hospital wing with the girl who brought it here," Anabel answered. "Here, I'll take you down now."

"Thanks," Brock answered, the stress and worry evident on his face as he recalled his Sudowoodo.

"You all just relax up here," Anabel said to Ash, May, and Dawn as she led Brock into the Battle Tower. "I'll be back in a moment."

"Sure thing, Anabel," Dawn answered, still gingerly trying to get off of Charizard. Ash took pity on her and helped to lift her down before turning to Pidgeot and Staraptor.

"Thanks for bringing Rey and the Wobbuffet here so quickly," he said, softly rubbing their neck feathers and causing them to coo with pleasure. "You guys may have just saved that Pokemon's life."

"Pigeoh!" Pidgeot nodded, closing its eyes in pleasure at the rubbing.

"Stahh, raptah stahh," Staraptor said, gently knocking Ash with the blade on its head.

"I think Staraptor wants to do some training with you," Dawn said mischievously, noting how eager the flying-type seemed to be at flying again. "It's been a while after all." Ash sighed and sat down.

"I know... I wanted all of my Pokemon on me for my Battle Colosseum challenges, but when it got destroyed I couldn't exactly leave them at Professor Oak's, could I? Mind, they could have stopped Paul threatening my Mom in a heartbeat..."

"You shouldn't keep beating yourself up over that," May said gently, taking his hands in hers. "It's not something any of us would have expected. How could you have known that Paul would want the GS Ball, that he would track it from Johto to Pallet Town and threaten your mother over it? We don't even know what he wants the GS Ball for, or what's in it."

"You're right," Ash muttered, "but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. He's after the GS Ball, and he knows..." His voice trailed off, his face contorting into an expression of inner torment. "He thinks you have it, May," he whispered. "He's after you." May nodded her head.

"I know," she said, "but I'm not worried about that."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you have it, Ash," Dawn interjected. "Paul is an incredibly powerful and dangerous trainer now. There are only a handful of people on the planet who have even a chance of defeating him in battle now."

"I don't see how that helps us much," Ash retorted.

"No?" Dawn asked. "You're one of those people, Ash. And you're also the only trainer in existence who Paul is afraid of."

"Afraid of?" Ash exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Paul's beaten me in battle more times than I count."

"And you beat him when it mattered," Dawn countered. "He knows, deep down, that you are a stronger and more resourceful trainer than he is. He battles for his own arrogance; you battle for your Pokemon."

_The GS Ball has to stay with me_, Ash realized, sitting down slowly. _It's too dangerous for anyone else to have it. Well, maybe Cynthia or Lance, but I don't want to drag them into this too..._ He felt a tugging at his sleeve and saw Latias in her human form, holding his arm. There was worry and concern in her eyes, but there was trust there too. As he gazed into her eyes, he nodded slowly; he knew that he had to keep hold of the GS Ball, and by doing that protect his friends.

"I remember Paul," Anabel said softly from the shadows, causing Ash, May, Dawn, Latias, Pidgeot, Staraptor, and Charizard to jump. "He came here after losing to you in the Sinnoh League. He was unusually harsh to his Pokemon, and I got a distinctly dangerous vibe from him. I was glad when he left. And now you say he's after something called the GS Ball, which you have?"

"Yeah," Ash answered.

"So the odds are good that he'll track you here," she stated. Ash laughed harshly.

"With Paul, this isn't a question of whether he'll track us here, but when," he said.

"Hang on," Dawn said suspiciously, "just how much did you overhear?" Anabel hesitated.

"Enough," she admitted. Truth was, she had only given Brock directions to the hospital wing before returning, but she would rather die than reveal the jealousy she had felt from witnessing the slightly private moment between Ash and May. Ash got up from his seat and walked to the edge of the balcony.

"I'm sorry for bringing everyone here at such short notice," he said to Anabel softly. "I'll be out of your hair tomorrow though."

"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised.

"I can't stay here too long. Paul's tracking me, and he won't stop until he finds and battles me. I can't put you, your staff, or my friends in danger anymore."

"So you're just going to go and run off?" Anabel asked, anger in her voice. "That's a bit cowardly, don't you think?"

"Not run away," Ash answered quietly. "I'm going to challenge him."

"What?" Dawn shrieked, jumping up.

"No!" May shouted.

"Are you crazy?" Anabel asked. "You don't even know if Paul is alone. You may be able to hold your own against him, but you won't have a chance if he's got others on his side." Ash was silent, digesting this possibility. Then, without a word, avoiding the heated and accusing glances radiating on him, he went to Charizard and climbed on the fire-type's back, Pikachu leaping up after him.

"Where are you going?" May asked, moving to his side.

"To think," Ash said after a pause. "I'll be back in an hour or two." The tone of his voice and his posture told May that there was no chance of changing his mind, or of going with him. She nodded, accepting his decision.

"Stay safe... don't be too long," she whispered, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. He touched the spot where she had kissed him gently.

"I won't," he said, before taking off with Staraptor and Pidgeot in his wake. Anabel almost had another heart attack when Latias took a running leap off of the balcony, but her fright was quickly lost at the sight of Latias soaring up and joining the three Pokemon already in flight.

"This is so stupid," Dawn groused, watching Ash fly away.

"He's just doing what he thinks is right," Anabel said, coming to his defence.

"No, no, no," Dawn said, shaking her head. "You misunderstood me; I meant, when was the last time Ash _ever_ did any serious thinking?"

The three women stared at each other a moment before bursting into laughter. They all knew that coming up with ideas was not Ash's greatest strength.

* * *

"How much longer da we hafta keep walkin'?" Meowth grumbled, pushing aside a fern that was obscuring his vision.

"As long as it takes," Jessie answered. "We have to keep going for as long as we can. Once we reach the coast, we can catch a ferry to Sinnoh. Cassidy won't follow us there, and we'll be safe. We just have to avoid any known Rocket locations on the way."

"Are ya sure we're goin' da right way?" Meowth asked.

"Of course!" Jessie answered, sounding insulted. "If my calculations are right, the north coast is only another day's walk away." She stepped out from behind a tree and saw Rocket headquarters in the distance.

"Oh no," Meowth sighed. He looked up at Jessie accusingly. "Ya sure dem calculations are right?" he asked.

"I don't understand where I went wrong," she muttered. "I followed the sun; it sets in the north, so we just go towards the sunset." Meowth groaned and slapped a paw to his face.

"Da sun rises in da east an' sets in da _west_, you idiot! You bin leadin' us back ta da base all dis time!"

"This is trouble," Jessie muttered going pale.

"You're tellin' me!" Meowth shouted.

"No! Meowth, run!" Jessie screamed, pointing at the sky and backing up to the tree line. Meowth looked to the sky, squinted, and opened his mouth to scream, rooted in shock at the sight of a massive Salamence falling towards them at high speed.

"Too late," he moaned, immobile.

"Meowth!" Jessie screamed, her face white as the massive dragon-type crashed into her friend, sending up a massive cloud of dust that hid the scene from her view.

In the air, Hunter J gazed from the back of her Salamence, her goggles easily piercing the dust as she searched for any sign of movement. There was none.

"Good," she murmured to herself before raising her voice for the benefit of her computer logs. "Battle against Silver is a success. Subject terminated."

* * *

Ash had been flying for no more than ten minutes before subconsciously directing Charizard to land by subtly shifting his weight forward. It was a technique that he had slowly honed since his victory in the Sinnoh League, directing his Pokemon through body language in addition to words. It had proven useful in his battles against the Elite Four, and it had in turn helped him to read the body language of his Pokemon better too.

Charizard landed gracefully in a small clearing and Ash slid off his old friend, giving him a grateful pat in the process. Pidgeot and Staraptor perched comfortably in two sturdy trees, and Latias hovered a few inches above the ground before melding into her human appearance and dropping lightly to the ground.

Ash stood in the centre of the clearing and, in one fluid motion, released all of his Pokemon. Floatzel, Grotle, Infernape, Gallade, Bulbasaur, Kingler, Muk, Tauros, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, Gliscor, and Glalie. They arranged themselves into a circle around him and he stood there, looking each one in the eye, enjoying the friendship, the companionship, the deep bond and love they all shared with each other.

"I'm sorry. To all of you," he said, looking each one of his friends in the eye. "I haven't trained or battled with you anywhere close to enough recently. Since the Colosseum and Professor Oak's lab both burned down, it's been very tough to do any of that. As soon as I finish this last journey, we'll get back to our usual schedule. But..." he let this hang in the air for a moment and then sighed.

"Some of you will remember Paul," he said, and there was a chorus of cries in response. "He's following us, trying to get something that we have: the GS Ball." He saw the eyes of Bulbasaur, Charizard, and Bayleef widen with recognition as he placed the ancient Poke Ball on the ground; possibly Snorlax and Cyndaquil remembered it too, but Ash could never tell if their eyes were wide or not.

"He tracked it to Pallet Town and threatened my Mom over it," Ash continued, "and no matter how much we avoid him, sooner or later he will catch up to us." He looked each and every one of his Pokemon in the eyes. "I'll need you, all of you, to help me fight him off," he said. "We don't know what he wants it for; as far as we know it's impossible to open or transport. But if Paul wants it, you can bet it isn't for anything good." He looked up at the sky, closing his eyes in concentration.

_I need your help_, he thought. There was silence, and so he tried again. _I know you can hear my thoughts; you told me so yourself. And I know that you've been following us from a distance these last few days. You told me that if I was ever in need of your help, all I needed to do was call for you and you would come_.

_I need your help now; will you come_?

There was silence once more, and then a small object manifested itself in the sky. Slowly, it descended until its feet touched ground and it faced Ash.

_You asked for my help and I have come_, Mewtwo said. _Do not explain the situation to me; I gleaned enough knowledge from your thoughts as you spoke. What is it you need for me_?

"Your help in planning what to do with it," Ash answered. "It's only a matter of time before Paul catches me up, and I need to have a plan to deal with him."

_You need me for that_? Mewtwo asked, his tone expressing slight cynicism.

"Mewtwo, we all know that I don't plan very well," Ash said. "I can do okay in the short-term, but in the long-term I'm hopeless. I need your help to come up with a plan on what to do with the GS Ball."

_The answer is simple_, Mewtwo responded after only a moment's thought. _The GS Ball needs to be destroyed_. Many of the Pokemon expressed surprise at this statement. _It may not even be possible. But it's the only way to make sure that Paul can never use it_.

"Pheessh corphish cawr?" Corphish asked, waving one pincer questioningly. Ash shook his head.

"There's nothing inside it," he said. "If there was, we would have been able to call it out." Coincidentally, at that moment the GS Ball twitched. They all stared at it a moment, before Mewtwo broke the silence.

_You are wrong_, he said. _There is something inside this device. What that may be, I do not know. All I can tell you is that it is a being far more ancient and powerful than any creature alive today_.

"You want to destroy the GS Ball when there is another creature inside of it?' Ash asked, incredulous. Mewtwo was silent a moment.

_I have a practical mind, not one ruled by emotion_, he answered. _I understand that the destruction of another creature is abhorrent to you. But know that evil of the darkest kind shrouds this device. Whether that comes from the device itself or the being inside, I cannot say. You must understand that if this device is ever opened, a terrible calamity shall befall the planet, and all who live on it. In the hands of one as our rival Paul, no good shall ever come from it. Destruction is the only option_.

He turned and looked up at the sky. _I must go_, he said tensely. _I shall be nearby if ever you need my help again_.

"Wait!" Ash called, before Mewtwo could take off.

_What_? Mewtwo asked.

"I need to know," Ash said. "Before, when you were levitating May outside of Vermillion City... You said that there was a dark presence around her that your powers could not touch. Was that caused by the GS Ball?" In response, Mewtwo held out a paw which began glowing lavender. The GS Ball glowed lavender in turn but did not move an iota, no matter how much Mewtwo tried to move it.

_The darkness I sensed has left your young friend_, Mewtwo answered. _It is centralized here in this clearing and, when you next pick it up and carry it, shall transfer itself over to you._ His eyes bored deep into Ash's. _This is a deadly device_, he said quietly. _Continued possession shall only lead to one path: death_.

With that, the legendary psychic-type turned and launched himself into the sky. Ash stared after him a moment and then sat down on a fallen log between Latias and Noctowl, his head in his arms. Latias put her arms around him, nuzzling his cheek with the top of her head. He hugged her in return, glad of the comfort she provided. In turn, the rest of his Pokemon gathered around, doing their best to give one big group hug to Ash. They stayed that way for a long time, Ash and Latias in each other's arms, and the other Pokemon giving what strength and reassurance they could.


	35. Realization

**Some of you are going to have a heart attack at this; two updates in two days (give or take an hour or two), and three in one week! And yes, this is a real update, LuciferIX! Well, thid chapter is shorter than the last few, but it's as long as it needs to be. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it. And sorry, Advanceshippingrox, but I didn't put it in because it was your idea; it's been the plan since I started writing this.**

**Anyways, enjoy! And as ever, please review!**

* * *

Brock stepped out onto the balcony and slumped into a chair, exhausted. "It's going to be okay," he said, forestalling their questions. "We got an intravenous drip into its arm and started filling its body back up with fluids. It'll take a day or two before it's completely recovered, but it isn't in danger anymore."

"That's a relief," May said, letting out a held breath. Brock nodded.

"It's all thanks to Rey, Pidgeot, and Staraptor that the Wobbuffet is alive," he said. "If they hadn't gotten here as quickly as they did..."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Brock," Anabel said. "You were the one who knew that it was dying, and you were the one who managed to send Rey on ahead with it." She frowned for a brief moment. "Where is Rey, anyways?" she asked.

"Downstairs on the battlefield," Brock answered. "Her ego took a real blow when she lost to my brother; I think it reminded her a bit too much of the way she lost to Koga and ended her Pokemon journey." He sighed. "I met her a couple of times in Pallet Town when I visited with Ash. She's a nice girl – most of the time – but she can act very nasty towards people who she thinks are beneath her when it comes to battling."

"Why?" May asked, confused.

"From what I understand, Koga was very harsh towards her," Brock answered. "He ended the battle early and told her she would never be a great trainer. She was crushed, and her dreams of being the best died. Since then she's resented trainers who she sees as weaker than herself, thinking that they'll grow and go on to be far more successful than she ever was. It's why she was so antagonistic towards Forrest; she couldn't accept that someone so much younger than her could already be a Gym leader. And it took a battle with him to prove otherwise, and for her to respect him for his ability."

"So she's trying to get back some of her confidence," Dawn said.

"That's right," Brock agreed. "That match was the first official battle she's had in ten years. She was overconfident and lost because of it, but I think it relit a spark of ambition that's been smouldering inside her all this time. She still wants to be the best, and now she's been given a second chance. Emotionally, anyways."

"Do you think she'll compete in a League?" Anabel asked him.

"Gym badges never expire," Brock answered. "She still has five Kanto badges registered to her, so she only needs three more. And she's had ten years of training with her Venusaur, along with her other Pokemon. Anything's possible, I suppose."

* * *

Ash climbed up the stairs of the Battle Tower; he had flown on Pidgeot on the way back, but rather than landing on the balcony he had directed the flying-type to land at the entrance instead, preferring the extra time it gave him to think as he climbed.

He paused three levels up at the entrance to the battlefield. Inside he noticed Rey, her face red with exertion as she battled her Venusaur against a Xatu. He watched her a moment before making his presence known.

"Doing a little training?" he asked. Rey started and turned before nodding.

"Yeah," she said. "It's been a while since I got any serious training done, and Venusaur and Xatu both need the workout."

"So this is your Xatu?" Ash asked, walking up to take a close look at the regal psychic-type. Rey nodded.

"I caught her as a Natu six years ago," she said. "I've never really battled with her that much, but we've trained an awful lot and she evolved a couple of months ago because of it." She sighed. "The only problem is, when I try to train her against Venusaur I'm commanding both of them. And because I do that, I know exactly what move is going to come next from both of them."

"Why is that a problem?" Ash asked.

"Because I never let Venusaur lose," Rey answered. "I'm biased in her favour because we've been together for so long; Xatu can never win."

"Why don't you train her against some of your other Pokemon?" Ash asked. Rey let out a bitter laugh.

"My training legacy," she said. "I only have two other Pokemon, and they're both too weak to battle Xatu." Ash held up a hand, stopping her.

"Never call your Pokemon weak," he said. "They may not be strong enough to defeat Xatu, but that doesn't make them weak. It may not seem like there's a difference, but there is. Saying that a Pokemon is 'too weak' just demoralizes them. And besides, how do you know they can't defeat Xatu?"

"They never have before."

"What happens before doesn't matter," Ash answered. "Every time a Pokemon battles they grow and get stronger, even if they don't win. A newly caught Pokemon can defeat the strongest member on your team if they're smart about it."

"Really," Rey said, and eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.

"Don't look at me like that," Ash told her. "Why would I lie?" He suddenly smiled. "I remember when I caught my Bayleef; it was still a Chikorita, and it was the pluckiest little Pokemon you'd ever see. I got so frustrated with it that I sent out my Charizard."

"Oh no," Rey said, starting to grin. "Don't tell me..."

"Yep," Ash nodded. "That Chikorita took down my Charizard." He clapped a hand on Rey's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "We all have room to grow," he said softly. 'There's always time." He turned and left the room, calling out four Pokemon as he did so; Floatzel, Staraptor, Totodile, and Noctowl.

"Why are leaving these?" Rey asked, confused.

"To battle," Ash said. "Let them battle against your Pokemon naturally. Watch them battle and learn what strengths they need to improve. Venusaur and Xatu against Floatzel and Staraptor in a double battle, and your other two Pokemon against Totodile and Noctowl in a single. Sometimes the best way for a Pokemon to grow is to rediscover its own natural skills."

And with that, he left the room.

* * *

Professor Oak sat at his computer and sighed, rubbing his temples as he waited for the analysis to finish. He gazed sadly around at his trashed lab. The fifteen valuable plates he had painstakingly collected and researched over the years had been stolen, and judging by the scattered papers and open cupboards, the rest of his lab had been ransacked as well.

"It must have been a two-pronged assault," Tracey surmised from behind the Professor. "That one guy who came in and threatened Delia wanted you to tell him where it was, while another broke in here and searched the lab to try and see if you'd hidden it away."

"That is what probably happened," Oak agreed, "but then I don't see why they would have taken the stone plates as well. It doesn't make any sense... As far as I know, there's no correlation between the two."

"Did they get your research on either?" Tracey asked in concern.

"Luckily no," Professor Oak answered. "So far as I can tell, the files on the GS Ball and the stone plates weren't copied or downloaded. I don't think my computer was even touched, to be honest." Tracey opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the computer.

"Analysis complete," a cool female voice spoke.

"Ah, excellent," Professor Oak said, turning back to the computer and rubbing his hands.

"Is that the sample of the pustule from May that Brock sent?" Tracey asked in interest.

"Yes; hopefully this will prove to Ash that it isn't the Pokerus," Oak answered. "Computer: identify."

"Sample is a previously unknown virus. No known recorded cases have been diagnosed." Professor Oak frowned.

"Well, at least it isn't the Pokerus," he muttered. "Computer: is there a documented virus of a similar genetic structure?" The image of the sample onscreen faded, to be replaced by an image that he knew all too well. "Oh no," he groaned.

"Pokerus," the computer answered. "A temporarily contagious disease that only affects Pokemon, causing a temporary state of insanity."

"Computer: compare Pokerus with unknown virus," Oak ordered. "Could unknown virus be created through a natural mutation of the Pokerus?"

"No," the computer answered after a few seconds of calculation.

"What does that mean?" Tracey asked. A grim slash crossed the Professor's face.

"Computer: could unknown virus be created through a synthetic manipulation of the genetic structure of the Pokerus?" he asked.

"Yes," the computer answered.

"What does that mean?" Tracey asked again.

"Computer: define the predicted effects of unknown virus," Professor Oak ordered, panic starting to set in.

"Effects unknown. For most likely scenario, please access Pokerus."

"Professor?" Tracey asked.

"This unknown virus infected May and almost killed her," Professor Oak muttered to himself. "Its effects are the same as the Pokerus..." He turned and looked Tracey in the eyes.

"There's only one thing it can mean," he said slowly. "Someone's made the Pokerus infect humans."

* * *

Giovanni stood, surveying the damage. Hard lines of anger crossed his face at every turn. Steam rose from the centre of the room where the Moltres had been hit by the water attacks; the Heatran sagged immobile, still in its cage and critically injured; Grunts were scattered around the perimeter, many of them groaning in pain and the rest staggering around with bewildered expressions on the face. As for the reinforced glass which should have protected him...

"_NAMBA!_" Giovanni roared, the call echoing throughout the spacious room. Almost comically, Professor Namba's head peeked around the blast doors that led to his lab. Disregarding the still smouldering shards of glass that clung resiliently to the window frame, Giovanni leaped through the hole and stormed over towards the cowering Professor.

"It's not my fault!" Namba squeaked as he drew nearer. "That one fool tripped and let go of the cage! If he hadn't fallen and knocked those other Grunts over the cages would never have collided, and the Moltres wouldn't have been provoked!"

"Hang the man who tripped!" Giovanni growled, lifting Namba bodily by the neck and smashing him against the blast doors. "Your mutant virus is supposed to give you control over an infected Pokemon! _Why didn't you call it off its rampage?_"

"I... I...," Namba stuttered, and Giovanni's lip curled scornfully.

"Oh, I see. Too scared to get involved? Pathetic," he muttered in an eerie imitation of his youngest son. He dropped the terrified Professor and stalked away to the cage containing the Heatran. "Don't just stand there!" he bawled at the Grunts. "Get this Heatran into the lab and get it healed _now_!" As the majority of Grunts leaped forwards to lift and carry the cage, he turned and walked over to the Grunt who had caused the situation by falling, and who actually appeared to be asleep.

"As for you," he growled, leaning down to pick up the man by the neck. The response was immediate. The Grunt's eyes snapped open and, with an unfocused gaze, leapt forwards under Giovanni's guard and tackled him to the ground. Giovanni gasped in surprise as his back hit the floor, and then the Grunt's hands were fastened under his neck and the life was being choked from his body. He writhed, trying to free himself from the deranged man to no avail, and then the man suddenly went limp and fell to the floor.

"Are you alright, sir?" Bashou asked, kneeling down to his side. Giovanni nodded and, taking a deep breath, clambered to his feet. He glared down at the unconscious man who had tried to throttle him and then turned back to Bashou.

"You stopped him?" he asked, and Bashou nodded silently. "Buson?" he called.

"Behind you, sir," Buson answered. Giovanni looked at them both, sizing them up.

"You've both saved my life today," he said quietly. "I do not thank people, but you both deserve recognition for what you have done. I'm doubling your pay."

"Thank you, sir," they both said.

"Sebastian?" he asked.

"Here, sir," the senior Professor answered from the ground, where he was intently examining the unconscious Grunt.

"That man will die for strangling me," Giovanni said, "why are you checking him over?"

"Because what this man did was not his own fault," Professor Sebastian said calmly, straightening himself as he stood and looked Giovanni in the eye. "It was Professor Namba's."

"What?" Giovanni asked, dumbstruck.

"Not true!" Namba blurted out from where he stood, having crept near during the incident.

"Look at this man's forehead," Sebastian said. "See this lump above his eye? That is the reason he attacked, and I suspect the reason he fell in the first place."

"Speak sense, man!" Giovanni said impatiently. "It's a bump from when he hit his head after tripping. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It was not caused by his fall; his fall was caused by it," Sebastian said an, noticing the expression on Giovanni's face, he hurried on. "This lump, or pustule to be more precise, is a reaction from being infected by a virus."

"From being infected by a..." the colour drained from Giovanni's face; he could see what was coming next.

"Yes," Sebastian said softly. "This man has been infected by the Perporus."

"That's impossible!" Namba shouted. "The Perporus is just a modified variant of the Pokerus, and that can only be transmitted between Pokemon!"

"As the senior Professor and scientist of Team Rocket, all research passes though me before it is approved," Sebastian said, ignoring his quivering contemporary. "I saw the trials and read the research papers; this pustule matches those of the test subjects and is identical to the descriptions in the paper Professor Namba wrote up."

"You are just trying to discredit me!" Namba shouted accusingly. "You are jealous of what I have come up with and want to claim the credit for yourself!"

"Professor Bamba, I can assure you..."

"It's _NAMBA_!" he screeched.

"_QUIET_!" Giovanni roared, with enough fury to make even a nearby Blastoise quail. He turned to Sebastian. "Any more proof?" he asked.

"Bashou, Buson; hold him down," Sebastian ordered, taking what appeared to be two stopwatches out of his pocket. "These are able to determine the genetic makeup of any disease or virus," he explained. "This one on the left has already been tested with the Perporus; the same variant that was administered to the Moltres, if I am not mistaken." He clicked a button and a small scraper appeared out the side of the device on the right. He quickly scraped its edge along the surface of the pustule and retracted it back into the device. The man moaned as his pustule was touched, but did not flail about. There was silence for several seconds while the device clicked and whirred.

"Analysis complete," the device spoke. Sebastian flipped open the lids of both devices and compared them quickly before holding them out to show Giovanni.

"You see," he said quietly. "They're a perfect match." Giovanni stared at the two and staggered back, his heart beating quickly.

"Then this means..." he began.

"Yes," Sebastian agreed. "When Professor Namba mutated the Pokerus into the Perporus, he gave it several unique abilities. The virus will last until death, although its contagiousness still ceases after 24 hours. The effect of increased strength and power remains, but the one infected will actually listen to a command given by its master. One infected by the Pokerus would never obey commands. Unfortunately, it appears as if the human barrier has been removed also. While the Pokerus can only be transmitted between Pokemon, it would seem that the Perporus affects humans. That means..."

"Epidemic," Giovanni whispered, his face pale.

"Sir!" Bashou shouted suddenly. "The Grunt... he's dead."

"What? How?" Giovanni asked. Sebastian knelt and examined the man closely.

"Fever," he said eventually. "One of the symptoms of the Pokerus is a high fever. Pokemon have different body temperatures and higher tolerances than humans do. The fever caused by the Pokerus never causes any lasting harm to a Pokemon, but it seems that the Perporus is not quite as benign when it comes to humans." Giovanni turned and advanced on Namba.

"This is all your doing," he hissed menacingly. "You caused this!"

"I only did what you told me to!" Namba protested.

"I told you to mutate the Pokerus into something we could control!" Giovanni roared, flecks of spit flying into Namba's face. "I didn't tell you to make it infect humans too!"

"But... but..." Namba stammered, backpedalling. Giovanni's cool finally snapped and he lashed out at the terrified scientist, sending him flying.

"Sebastian!" Giovanni snapped.

"Sir?" the senior scientist asked, hurrying forwards.

"You're in charge of this mess now," he said. "Find out the full effects of Namba's Perporus, and reverse them if you can. Do a _thorough_ investigation into where Namba went wrong, and mutate a strain of Pokerus into a form of Perporus that _won't_ affect humans. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sebastian nodded with a salute.

"Target neutralized," Hunter J's cool, collected voice spoke through the building's intercom. "Moltres has been caught."

"Finally, some good news," Giovanni groaned, placing his hands over his head.

* * *

**Another quick update, and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't expect the next one so fast though. Please review!**


	36. Truce

**And here we are with the next update. You must all be enjoying this unusually quick-paced schedule. But hey, four uploads in just over a week beats four updates in the last six months (which is what I had been doing through 2008 up until this point, sadly). Anyways, on with the chapter! And like always, please review!**

* * *

Drew opened his eyes. His body burned with pain, his cheeks were damp and scarred, but for the first time in over two years his mind was clear. And he knew then, fully for the first time, what his lust had cost him. He closed his eyes, trying to suppress a few tears. It was obvious to him, now, what had happened. And he knew too what had saved him.

He saw Max lying in the earth several yards away, unmoving as he gazed at the stars. Drew would have thought him to be asleep where it not for his wide, staring eyes, and the soft sounds of remorse he made. Leaning next to him in concern was his Gardevoir, her body shaking with fatigue and an inner pain. But the moment that Drew approached, she raised her head and glared at him, moving her arms into an attack position. Noticing this, he decided that the best tactic would be to stop moving and try a vocal approach instead.

"Max?" he called tentatively, and when there was no response he tried again a little louder. "Max?" This time the young trainer seemed to have heard and he slowly turned his head towards the Coordinator, although his eyes were unfocused and staring.

"You're alive," Max stated. Drew said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "I thought I'd killed you," Max went on, more to himself than to Drew.

"You didn't," Drew answered, and another uncomfortable silence followed for several minutes.

"How are you feeling?" Max asked. Drew let out a short bark of laughter.

"Better than I have for over two years," he admitted. This caught Max's attention, his gaze becoming sharp and attentive as he got to his feet.

"You were hit by a Stage-3 Psychic," he said. "I _tortured_ you with it. You should be lying on the ground in pain, virtually incapacitated; not standing here saying that you feel fantastic."

"My body is burning with the pain," Drew said bluntly. "I feel like I should be dying from it. I am in agony right now physically. But I haven't felt this good mentally for years. Max; you've saved me." Max was taken aback by this.

"I don't understand," he muttered.

"I was obsessed," Drew said. "Years ago in Kanto, I fell in love with your sister. But my love faded and was replaced by lust. I became obsessed with her body, and couldn't get her out of my mind. I lied to her, I deceived her, I played with her mind; all to try and get her to be with me. I didn't care about the way she felt, I forget she had her own feelings. I manipulated her into doing what I wanted, because what I wanted was her body." He noticed the stony expression covering Max's face and hurried on.

"Barely a week after she agreed to be with me, I met up with another girl. She was different from May in a couple of ways. For one thing, she was obsessed by me and was willing to do anything I wanted her to, no matter how despicable it was. For another thing, her body was even more attractive than your sister's. My lust switched almost overnight, from May to this new girl."

"Brianna," Max said coldly.

"Brianna," Drew agreed. "And then, right when it seemed that everything was going in my favour, Brianna turned up with Harley and dumped me."

"Which you deserved," Max snarled.

"It drove me insane," Drew shot back. "I lost my mind and swore vengeance on both of them for what they'd done to me. And then I remembered your sister and fell in love with her body all over again. I was desperate to have her back, but every time I found her... she rejected me. It drove me deeper and deeper into despair and longing."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say," Max said after a moment.

"I went insane, mad, nutty, crazy, mental, whatever word you want to use! I lost my reason, my rationale. I lost my _mind_, Max. I can barely remember anything that's happened in the last year. Max, by attacking me with that Psychic... Every wrong thing that I've ever done, every person I've hurt, I saw it all again. You may have hurt my body, but you did much more than that. You freed my mind."

"So you're saying that by torturing you, I got rid of your insanity?" Max asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Drew affirmed.

"And I thought it was usually the other way around," Max muttered before looking Drew in the eyes. "I still hate you for what you've done to my sister," he said.

"It's impossible for you to hate me more than I hate myself," Drew answered, holding out his hand. "Shake?" Gardevoir hissed in distaste but after a moment of appraisal, Max took the proffered hand and shook it once, just once.

"Come on," he said, recalling his Gardevoir and turning away. "If you're truly sorry then you can start earning some forgiveness by doing something for me."

"What's that?'

"I need your help."

"With what?" Drew persisted. Max halted, looking in the direction of Mount Silver.

"What do you know about Deoxys or Team Rocket?" he asked.

* * *

"Meowth!" Jessie screamed again as a second Salamence circled overhead several times before flying off around the side. For a brief moment there was silence and she feared the worst. But then, as the dust began to settle, there was a great hacking cough and Meowth became visible, standing frozen between the fallen Salamence's neck and wing.

"Dat was too close," he moaned, before hacking out another cloud of dust. Jessie ran forwards in relief, ready to hug and berate the life out of him, but came to a screeching halt when the massive dragon-type stirred. It climbed slowly to its feet, and to the greatest surprise of both Jessie and Meowth revealed the shape of a man who had pinned underneath it. His eyes burned with anger as he looked in the direction the second Salamence had gone.

"I will get her back for what she has done," Silver swore, climbing painfully to his feet. "She won't know what hit her." And then he noticed the open-mouthed Jessie standing mere feet from him, the red 'R' emblazoned on her white shirt. "A Rocket, eh?" he roared, grabbing hold of a second Poke Ball as he shifted into a fighting stance. "I think it's time to play some more!"

"Mime! Mime-mime!" a little voiced squeaked, running past the angry Silver and throwing itself into Jessie's arms. "Mime mime mime!" Silver stared at the little Mime Jr. in astonishment, the Poke Ball in his hand forgotten.

"That's your Mime Jr.?" he asked. "It saved my fall when we fell by using Reflect; stopped us from hitting the ground as fast we would have done and it stopped Hunter J's goggles from finding us in the dust. So is it yours?"

"I... eh... ah..." she stammered.

"Jessie, dis is Jimmy's Mime Jr.!" Meowth realized. He turned to Silver, sliding out his claws. "Alright, start talkin'! What did ya do with da rest of James's Pokemon?" he snarled. The heavy breath of the Salamence on his neck quickly made him remember his manners. "Please?" he asked, retracting his claws with a blush. Silver stared at him.

"You can talk!" he said incredulously.

"Dat, or you've gone loopy," Meowth answered. "Personally, I prefer loopy."

"It was a pretty high fall," Silver muttered to himself. Then he shook his head. "Let's move," he ordered. "Team Rocket hasn't seen us yet, but they will do soon enough now that the dust has cleared. Into the woods, go." They traipsed into the forest for several moments before Silver judged them far enough away for the moment.

"Feahhh, Fearow fee," a small Fearow called down to Mime Jr. from a nearby tree.

"Mime-mime, miiime!" Mime Jr. answered.

"Meowth, what are they saying?' Jessie asked, noticing that the normal-type was listening attentively.

"Dat Fearow is asking Mime Jr. if it knows us," Meowth answered. "Mime Jr. told it dat we're James's best friends, and not to worry about us."

"Why would the Fearow want to know that?" Jessie wondered, puzzled.

"Because James caught dis Fearow," Meowth answered, listening hard to the conversation between the two Pokemon. "It wants ta know if it can trust us."

"James caught a Fearow?" Jessie asked, surprised.

"I've been working with a Pokemon owned by a member of Team Rocket?" Silver asked, even more incredulous than Jessie. "Why would it work with me to destabilize Team Rocket if it's owned by a Rocket?"

"If ya'd just let me listen to da bird, I'd be able to let ya know," Meowth said to him a little crossly. "Right start at da beginning," he told the Fearow. Training its attention on Meowth, the Fearow began to caw out its explanation. "Okay, so James caught ya when ya fell out of a tree after a mean trainer with an Electivire attacked da nest," Meowth repeated. "He seemed like a nice guy so ya decided ta follow him around and be one of his Pokemon. Den one day you'd stopped and dat nasty trainer sprung a trap on James. He got taken away by a bunch'a Grunts and his other Pokemon were taken too. They didn't get you because they didn't see ya up in a tree.

"When ya followed dem, ya heard 'em say dat he was gonna be killed, just like dey tried ta do wid me an' Jessie. Dey took him inside an' you waited outside for a coupla days, butcha didn't see him again. Den one day dis man ran outside chased by a buncha Grunts. So ya decided to help him out, cause by dis time ya hate dose Rockets, and you been helpin' him up till now."

"Wait," Jessie said, beginning to panic. "So does that mean James is still inside? Or is he already..." She couldn't finish the sentence, but Silver took over.

"He wearing a white uniform like yours – minus the skirt – and have blue hair?" he enquired.

"You've seen him?" Jessie gasped.

"They put him in my cell," Silver answered. "Then one guy – a nasty trainer with an Electivire – called him out of the cage, saying he had one last chance to save his life and to go with him. Then he shocked me and left, but forgot to lock the cage door. That's how I was able to get out and escape. Your friend is alive, but for how long I have no clue; any inkling as to why they want him dead?"

"Not a clue," Jessie answered. "They sent two of their Grunts – who were coincidentally our biggest rivals – to kill me and Meowth. We'd be dead if a kid and his Tyranitar hadn't stopped them. I'm guessing that this guy with the Electivire found James and tricked him into going back to the base." She sighed. "Meowth and I can't go back; we've got a price on our heads and if we return we'll be killed. We aren't Team Rocket anymore."

"If you can't go back, then why are you standing right outside the base?" Silver asked her accusingly.

"We were looking for da north coast," Meowth answered, glaring daggers at Jessie. "Someone can't navigate."

"I said I was sorry!"

"You never said anything like!"

Silver sighed, watching them bicker. "You can't return, so it's no good just standing around here," he said, glancing back in the direction of the headquarters. "Your fellow Rockets want you dead?"

"The boss and Cassidy do at least," Jessie answered.

"Then you can help me," Silver said bluntly. "There's something suspicious going on inside your HQ. I was in there earlier today to get back my Pokemon and a Moltres suddenly came from nowhere and blasted its way out of the castle. It got caught again, thanks to Pokemon Hunter J, but..."

"You tink dere may be more dan dat Moltres being held," Meowth realized.

"Right," Silver nodded. "If we work as a team we can sneak inside, free the legendary Pokemon, and cripple the Rockets plan!"

"Sounds dangerous," Jessie muttered, and Silver grinned wolfishly.

"Danger is my middle name," he said.

"Yeah? What's your first?" Meowth asked.

"Silver," he said. "Now if you're gonna help me out, come with me; I've know a place we can hide while we plan. If you're not, well," he shrugged, "best of luck to you." He turned and began walking deeper off into the trees.

"Do we go with him or go north?" Jessie asked Meowth.

"If we go wid him, we ain't gonna get lost at least," Meowth answered, following the gigantic man into the forest.

* * *

"So the Wobbuffet's doing okay?" Ash asked.

"Better than okay," Brock said, shaking his head in amazement. "I've never seen a Pokemon so near death recover so quickly! It's incredible. That Wobbuffet is already walking around; if its trainer happened to pass by today, I think it would be ready to travel by tomorrow."

"That's great news," Ash said, leaning back against his chair and closing his eyes.

"So Rey's still training?" Brock asked.

"Mmmhmm," Ash answered, his eyes still closed. "Dawn went down about an hour ago to train with her; it'll really help Rey to go against a Contest style since she's never battled a Coordinator before."

"Ash," Anabel called, walking onto the balcony. "There's a phone call for you. It's Professor Oak."

"Thanks, Anabel," Ash said, opening his eyes and swinging his legs over the side of his chair. "I think I know what this is about." He tried to get up and realize he was stuck in his position. "Uhh, little help?" he asked.

"You've got to be kidding me," Brock sighed.

* * *

May was already at the phone when Ash arrived. "Anabel told me on the way up to you," she explained. "It's about the infection that I had."

"I thought it might be," Ash said, sitting down on the bench next to her and looking at the video screen. "Professor Oak; what's the news?"

"Well, you were partially right, Ash," Professor Oak answered, his face a little pale. "It isn't the Pokerus, but it's very similar genetically. We aren't sure what it is; nothing like this has ever been described before. It's possible May was the first person ever to be infected by it."

"So you don't know anything about it?" Ash asked.

"Nothing for certain, but we can guess quite a bit by drawing on our knowledge of the Pokerus." Professor Oak said. "For instance, one of the side effects of the Pokerus in a Pokemon is increased power and strength. So..."

"So you mean I could be as strong as a superhero?" May asked, her voice rising in excitement.

"Well, no," Professor Oak said with a smile. "A Pokemon's strength is increased gradually over the 24 hours of infection. You were only infected for two hours tops, and the fever would have killed you if it had been any longer than that. My guess is that you'll be stronger than you were before, but not by too much."

"Oh," May said, disappointed.

"Cheer up; it means it'll be easier to do housework and move heavy objects," Oak said.

"Great," she grumbled.

"Professor," Ash interrupted, "when Latias was infected, you sent nearly everybody outside since she was contagious. Could May have passed on the disease to any of us?" Oak shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "If the disease had spread to any of you, you'd have shown the symptoms days ago. You don't have anything to worry about there."

"That's a relief," Ash said. "Oh, I almost forgot; Lt. Surge gave me some sort of rock to give to you. The Zap Plate, or something like that?"

"Yes," Oak said, frowning. "I was meaning to ask you about that. You see, I had fifteen other plates in my basement lab, but they've all been stolen."

"What?" May asked, surprised.

"Yes, it was a nasty shock. We discovered it the morning after Paul threatened Delia," Oak said. "Tracey thinks that the two events may be connected."

"So Paul isn't travelling alone?" Ash asked with a sinking heart. May gave him an 'I told you so' look.

"That could well be the case," Oak answered. "We know Paul's after the GS Ball, but we had no clue about the Plates. It's possible that they were stolen by somebody entirely different, but..." he paused. "I'll do some research to try and see if there are any historical connections between the GS Ball and the stone Plates. I'll let you know if I find anything out."

"Right," Ash nodded. Professor Oak gave him a long, searching look.

"Be careful, Ash. Paul wants the GS Ball, and he knows you have it. If he is after the Zap Plate and finds out that you have that as well... It's imperative that he doesn't get either one."

"I understand, Professor," Ash said quietly. "I'm going to leave the Battle Tower tomorrow and keep going west. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to reach Tohjo Falls, and then I can cut south and back to Pallet Town."

"Hopefully you'll lose him on the river," Oak said. "Be careful, Ash."

"I will," Ash answered, and the connection was terminated.

"_You're_ leaving tomorrow and then _you'll _cut south to Pallet?" May echoed. "You know damn well that I'm going with you, Ash Ketchum."

"Of course," Ash said with a smile.

"And I doubt that Brock, Rey, or Dawn will want to stay behind either," she added. "Stop trying to get rid of us."

"I'm sorry May, and I'm not trying to do that," Ash said. "It's just... I'm worrying about Paul, and whether we can find a way to destroy the GS Ball."

"You'll find a way," she said softly, putting an arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I know you will."

"But at what cost?" he asked, returning the gesture.

"Ash," May said, looking him in the eyes. "You have the GS Ball for a reason; you're the only one who can protect us by keeping it away from Paul. And if, to protect us, you have to destroy it..."

"Then that's exactly what will happen," he finished. They were silent for a moment, and then...

"Ash?" May asked softly.

"Yes, May?"

"When you were battling Cynthia... At the end of the ten-minute break, I was feeling kinda down. But then Anabel told me that you were wearing half-a-ribbon around your neck, and it cheered me up." She hesitated. "Was it... was it our ribbon?" Ash nodded.

"Going into that match, I knew I'd need all the inspiration I could get. And that's why I wore the ribbon."

"I don't understand."

"You're my inspiration, May," he said tenderly. "I wore it because it reminded me of you, and it gave me the strength I needed. Having that ribbon there with me... it was like having a part of you there by my side. You inspired me to battle, and you inspired me to win. When I was out there against Cynthia, I wasn't battling for myself, or for a title. I was battling for you."

* * *

"Team Rocket and Deoxys?" Drew repeated. "Almost nothing, besides the fact that Deoxys helped to destroy my hometown and terrorized some of my friends; why?"

"Team Rocket is a really nasty criminal gang who steal Pokemon," Max answered, still moving towards Mount Silver. "They're always trying to get stronger and stronger Pokemon; why they want or need them, I really have no idea. They mainly operate in Kanto and Johto, but they started to spread into Sinnoh a few years ago."

"And Deoxys?"

"Deoxys is a legendary Pokemon that came from another planet," Max said. "There are three on the planet that I know of; the two that were in LaRousse City, and one that was revived here in Kanto." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "The one in Kanto is my friend. I was supposed to meet it around lunch today, but it never showed up."

"So what does that have to do with the Team Rocket?" Drew asked. Max pointed in the direction they were heading.

"From my, ah, _past experiences_ in this region, I happened to find out that the Team Rocket headquarters are somewhere around Mount Silver."

"They're that close to civilization?" Drew asked, frowning.

"I wouldn't say they're _that_ close," Max answered. "The Battle Tower is just over a day's walk away, but apart from that there's wilderness for miles and miles. Even the toughest trainers generally shy away from this area, since the Pokemon here are so dangerous."

"So you decided to meet with Deoxys in a dangerous and inhospitable area, only a couple of hours away from Team Rocket headquarters?" Drew asked.

"Okay, it was a stupid idea. I came up here to challenge my abilities, and I never thought Deoxys would just disappear."

"So you think Team Rocket may have captured it?"

"Deoxys has never let me down before, and it's the kind of Pokemon Team Rocket would love to get their hands on."

"So what are you going to do?" Drew asked.

"Break into their headquarters and free Deoxys," Max answered fiercely. Drew paused.

"Are you sure you don't want to think of a better plan?" he asked.

"Like what?"

"Like actually sitting down and coming up with ideas on how to do this," Drew said. "When Flygon and I crashed, it was because a woman on her Salamence had beaten us in a fight in mid-air." Max nodded.

"I saw the battle."

"Then you also saw how badly I did against her," Drew said. "I'm not sure if she was a Rocket or not, but she _was_ stealing my Pokemon. In a one-on-one fight with her, I lost. Now, imagine the two of us going up against all of Team Rocket. What do you think is going to happen?"

"Do you have a better plan?" Max challenged.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Drew shot back. "Now if you'll just spare your most hated enemy five minutes to talk, we might just be able to get in and out of Team Rocket's base alive."

"Five minutes, Drew," Max said, stopping and turning to face him. "Start talking."


	37. Encounter

**Sorry for the lack of updates again; I was busy entertaining a friend for a week, and had work after that. It's been hard finding time to write, and I've also been immersed in a relatively long manga called _I''s_. It's quite the interesting story; I might skip making a sequel and just go straight into an _I''s_ fanfiction instead! But for now, here's the next update. **

**Thanks to those of you who have voted in the poll on my user profile. If you haven't yet, I'd very much like it if you would. I'd like to know which direction you'd like me to go in! Oh, and to let you know, _Final Challenge_ has just scraped over 39 500 views, and has close to 280 reviews. I never anticipated that so many people would read this story! Thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to stay another few days?" Anabel asked desperately. "It seems like you just got here."

"I'm sorry, Anabel," Ash answered. "I'd like to stay a while longer; really, I would. But I need to get the Zap Plate back to Pallet Town for Professor Oak." She nodded and looked down, a strand of her violet hair shielding the sadness in her eyes.

"Hey," Ash said softly, lifting her chin with a hand, "I'll be back soon, okay? I really wanted to stay longer... Once I've given it to Professor Oak and checked in on my Mom, I'll come back. I promise."

"Thanks, Ash," Anabel said with a small smile. "Take care, okay? Don't let Paul catch you up."

"I won't," he assured, "but I should go now. The others are all waiting outside already." Anabel opened her mouth to respond, but was forestalled by a cry.

"Waaaaba, Wobba Wob!" the Wobbuffet shouted, running around a corner and crashing into Ash.

"Hey, easy," Ash laughed. "Feeling better, huh?"

"Wobba wobba!" the Wobbuffet nodded, clinging to Ash's arm. Ash lowered his head and examined the Pokemon closely.

"You're Team Rocket's Wobbuffet, right?" he asked. "Did you get separated from Jessie or something?"

"Wob..." the Wobbuffet said, tears in its eyes.

"Well... if you wanted to, you could come along with us, I guess," Ash said. "Jessie, James, and Meowth generally seem to find us every few days, so we could probably get you back to them before too long."

"Wha?" Wobbuffet asked in amazement.

"No, it doesn't bother me at all," Ash said, shaking his head. "I know how upset and worried I'd be if one of my Pokemon went missing; I may not like how they try and steal my Pokemon, but I'd never keep one of theirs from them.

"And besides," he added softly, "I know how you're missing them too."

"Wobba... wobba..." Wobbuffet began, tearing up again.

"I'll see you soon, okay Anabel?" Ash said, straightening up. Anabel nodded.

"Hurry back," she said quietly as he began to walk away.

"You know it," he answered, flashing her a grin. Then as she watched, he and Wobbuffet rounded the corner and were gone.

"Be careful, Ash," she whispered.

* * *

Namba glanced dourly at Sebastian as he walked calmly on a nearby computer in the lab, his fingers a blur as he simulated several possible variations of the Perporus. It was a glare that Sebastian could hardly miss, and it was difficult for even his calm and collected persona to ignore the outright hostility radiating from the shunned Rocket scientist.

"Professor Namba, you might find yourself earning a little more forgiveness from Giovanni if you were to actually do the work he has assigned you," he said.

"My work has been usurped!" Namba said loudly, balling his hands into fists. "You sabotaged my research to discredit me, I know you did!"

"I did nothing of the sort," Sebastian said flatly. "I have better things to do than be stuck in this dingy lab with only you for company. My research is far more important to me than the mutation of a virus, and I would much rather be testing some of my theories than fixing your errors."

"But-"

"Giovanni told you several days ago to investigate a possible connection between the legendary Pokemon," Sebastian interrupted. "The Deoxys that crashed was infected with your variation of the Pokerus; an impossible situation, given that the Perporus has never left these facilities and that at the time we had not yet captured a Deoxys. You need to find out how the Deoxys was infected, if there is a connection between legendary Pokemon that can lead to the transmitting of disease, and how we can apply this in our own interests."

"I'm not doing the same work twice!" Namba shouted.

"Twice?" Sebastian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I already finished that research," Namba growled. "I did it after he told me the first time. He just forgot and gave it to me again."

"And what were your results?" Sebastian asked.

"Like I'm telling you!" Namba spat. "I'll tell you what I found, and then you go swanning off to Giovanni with all my research!"

"I am not going to claim your research as my own and present it to Giovanni," Sebastian stated. "I have ethics. Besides, Giovanni would not be pleased if I were to present your research to him, as it would mean that I was not doing my assigned job. I have no wish to wind up in the same position as you. Now; your research, please."

"Just why should I give it to you?" Namba challenged. "What do you want with it?"

"This is getting tedious," Sebastian muttered to himself before addressing the question. "You and I are both aware that no research is considered valid unless it has been corroborated by another individual within the scientific community who was _not_ involved in the study. For your own sake, show me the research and explain what you have discovered."

Grudgingly, Namba reached down towards a briefcase by his legs and withdrew a stack of papers. He handed them over to Sebastian, who looked over the research with a raised eyebrow.

"Interesting," he mused. "Can you explain this further?"

"Legendary Pokemon have several things in common," Namba said. "For one thing, they are exceedingly rare and powerful types of Pokemon. For another, they are intimately connected with one another. They-"

"This research isn't all yours, is it?" Sebastian asked. Namba looked down, a crimson shadow crossing his face.

"I hacked remotely into Professor Oak's computer shortly after his lab was destroyed by the Rayquaza that Bashou and Buson managed to capture," he muttered. "Most of this information is from there."

"I thought I recognized his style of writing in this," Sebastian sighed. "Really, Professor, you could have at least endeavoured to make it sound like something you'd write."

"But!"

Sebastian turned to his desk and grabbed a thick magazine that was hidden beneath several calculations. "Let me read you an excerpt from this page, Professor, which was originally written by Professors Samuel and Gary Oak as an article on the Pokerus: '_The Pokerus is an infectious illness spread amongst Pokemon. This illness is not very well studied, mainly as a result of both the rareness of the disease and the danger of studying a Pokemon who has contracted it. What is known is that it is not caused by a virus, but by microorganisms that take a Pokemon as their host. Hence the name 'Pokerus' is actually a misnomer._

'_Once infected, a Pokemon undergoes a period of instability and insanity over a period of 24 hours; after this time has elapsed the microorganisms will die, and the Pokemon cannot be infected again. The Pokerus will, however, leave behind some beneficial side effects that will remain with a Pokemon for the remainder of its life. These side effects include increased physical strength and stamina._

'_It was thought that the Pokerus could be spread only through physical contact. Recently, however, an infection was witnessed where this was not the case. It occurred during the attack by a Rayquaza in the midst of a Championship Pokemon battle. The Rayquaza was infected and, despite the fact that there was no physical contact between the two, it somehow managed to pass the disease on to a Latias in the midst of the battle. How did this happen? The answer is through their connection._

'_Everything on the planet may be connected to everything else... living creatures are more closely linked to other living creatures than they are to a rock. And it divides again; humans connect on deeper levels to each other than to Pokemon, and vice versa. But in Pokemon, the divisions continue; a Ralts will connect more easily to other Psychic Pokemon than to a Ground type; within the Psychic grouping, it is closer to those in its own evolutionary line than it is to Hypno. And of course, a Ralts will always connect best to another Ralts._

'_There is one group of Pokemon where these connections don't work. This group of Pokemon is unique - there are over 30 different species, and they represent nearly every type. Some of them are ancient in origin, so old that they are considered myths. Others are so rare that they are nearly one of a kind; legendary Pokemon. _

'_Legendary Pokemon are intimately connected with one other; at all times they can sense the presence of other legendary Pokemon, as well as how they are feeling. When the collector Lawrence III infamously tried to capture the legendary birds in the Orange Islands, they could sense what was happening. When Zapdos felt Moltres's absence, it claimed Fire Island as its own. The guardian Lugia sensed Moltres's capture and went to try and free the legendary Pokemon. There are other examples, too. How did Rayquaza know that the Deoxys was hiding in LaRousse City; how did the Deoxys know that the core of another Deoxys was being kept there? Why did that Rayquaza suddenly appear in the midst of a Championship battle and attack only a Latias? _

'_It all boils down to the connection that legendary Pokemon share with one another. Legendary Pokemon are so closely linked that they don't need physical contact to pass on the Pokerus. If this theory is correct, it means that other legendary Pokemon could also be infected. It is unknown how close they would need to be in order to pass on the disease through their connection, but if it is of any great distance then there could be looking at an epidemic of unimaginable proportions._'"

Sebastian rumpled the papers into a ball and threw them away contemptuously.

"No," Namba whispered, his face ashen. "No, it can't be!"

"You don't even deserve to be called a Professor after this, _Namba_," Sebastian said in disdain. "What you have done is unethical."

"You're talking to me about unethical?" Namba retorted. "After the experiments you have devised? Controlling the minds of Magikarp and Gyarados? Torturing Raikou? Commissioning the cloning of Mew? If anyone is unethical, it is you!"

"I have standards!" Sebastian roared, finally losing control of his calm persona. "My experiments may be a bit more dangerous to the subject than those conducted by other scientists, but it is the reason why I have learned so much more than any other individual in this field! I have never broken my vow of scientific honour, and I would never plagiarize another respected scientist!" He glared at Namba, his chest heaving. "You are nothing but a thief," he hissed, "a worthless, petty thief who takes the accomplishments of others as his own. You disgust me."

"I am not a worthless thief," Namba whispered.

"Every scientist knows about the connection between legendary Pokemon," Sebastian said flatly. "You were just the last to know."

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Jessie asked, dubiously eyeing the black outfit that Silver was holding out to her.

"Absolutely," Silver said, thrusting the outfit he had stolen from the Grunt towards her. "You don't even have a black uniform, do you? So if you show up they'll expect you to be in white. You can lead me and Meowth down into the lab, saying that you captured us outside. There are bounties on the two of us, so there won't be any questions."

"I've got a question," Meowth interrupted. "Maybe dey won't recognize her by dat uniform, but her hair is a dead giveaway."

"Hmm... yes, I was just coming to the hair..." Silver said slowly. Jessie backed up nervously.

"Hold on a moment; what we're doing is incredibly dangerous, and you want me to get rid of my hair?"

"If you don't want us to be found out, then yes."

"Nobody touches the hair," she warned as Silver came closer. "Cut it and I'll kill you."

"Dis ain't gonna be pretty," Meowth said, covering his eyes with both paws as he turned away.

There was the sound of a snap, a scream, and Meowth opened his eyes, fearing the worst. Silver stood with an almost comical look on his face as Jessie clawed at the back of her head in a panic. Max stepped out from the bushes behind her, a pair of scissors in one hand and a large tuft of red hair in the other.

"I've always wanted to do that," he said with a huge grin on his face.

"_Twerp_!" Jessie screamed, whirling and lunging at the young trainer. She was quickly stopped in midair as Max's Gardevoir burst through the bush and barred her way with a Confusion long enough for Silver to grab the enraged red head from behind and hold her securely.

"Was that really necessary, Max?" Drew asked as he pushed his way out behind Gardevoir. Max shrugged.

"They wanted her hair cut, so I did it for them," he said, looking at Jessie. "Consider that payback for all the times you tried to steal our Pokemon."

"I'm gonna kill you for that," she growled in return.

"Enough," Silver said to her sternly before looking at Max and Drew. "What are you two doing here? This is a dangerous area-"

"With her I'm not surprised," Max muttered.

"-and you shouldn't be wandering around willy-nilly. Team Rocket headquarters is only a short distance away," he finished.

"Can you give us directions?" Max asked.

"And why would you want to go dere?" Meowth asked him shrewdly. "I'd a thought dat would be da last place you'd wanna go, Twerp." Max hesitated.

"Why should I answer someone who's involved with Team Rocket?" he asked. "More likely than not you were involved in it."

"Jessie and Meowth are no longer members of Team Rocket," Silver broke in. "Giovanni wants them dead. They are risking their lives by going back in. You don't have anything to worry about with them."

"Except for my hair," Jessie muttered.

"I was supposed to meet up with my friend, a Deoxys," Max said, and Silver let in a sharp gasp of breath.

"Let me guess; you think Team Rocket managed to capture your Deoxys friend?" he asked.

"That's right," Max nodded.

"Then we may as well go in together," he said. "Team Rocket captured me, but I escaped. I went back in to get my Poke Balls earlier, and a Moltres broke out right next to me."

"Deoxys and Moltres," Drew mused, interrupting. "So you think Team Rocket is capturing legendary Pokemon?"

"Right, and that's what we're going in to find out," Silver said. "If they are, well..." he showed his teeth. "Team Rocket is gonna get the shock of their lives when they all get broken out."

"So what's your plan?" Drew asked.

"Simple," Silver grinned. "Meowth and I go in as captives, you three go in as our captors."

"How will we know where to go?" Max asked.

"If dere are legendary Pokemon in dere, either Professor Namba or Professor Sebastian will be examining dem," Meowth said. "Anyone asks any questions, just say dat we're being taken ta one of dem. Let Jessie do da talking, she's really good at dat."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered," she muttered, still trying to struggle out of Silver's grasp.

"Ready?" Silver asked. "We may as well go now before second thoughts or doubts come into our minds."

"Drew and I don't have a uniform like Jessie does," Max protested. "What are we supposed to do?"

"New recruits with tough Pokemon," Silver said, giving Max's Gardevoir a cursory glance. "You'd best recall your Pokemon now; we don't want her spotted and taken." He took his own Poke Balls and gave one each to Drew and Max. "They'll be suspicious if they see any Poke Balls on me," he explained, and then looked up at the Fearow perched on a branch overhead who had so far remained silent. "You'll have to stay here for this one, okay?" he asked.

"Fee," the Fearow nodded.

"Good," Silver said, loosening his grip on Jessie as he sensed it was finally safe enough for Max to let her go. "Let's move out, but tie me and Meowth up first."

"Do you have any rope?" Drew asked.

"In my bag," Silver nodded. "Don't worry about the tightness of the knots; I can break out of any rope without a sweat."

"Be gentle wid me," Meowth begged as Jessie looped some of Silver's rope around his paws.

"Stop complaining," she retorted. "If anyone has a right to complain, it's me! My poor hair..."

* * *

"Hunter J," Giovanni said, "you recaptured the escaped Moltres and put an end to Silver. I'm very impressed; he was quite a thorn in our side."

"Unless you're planning on giving me a bonus for it, cut the crap," J responded, completely unimpressed. "I have the last specimens for you; Kyogre, Manaphy, Jirachi, three Deoxys in normal, attack, and speed forms, as well as the fragment of Soul Dew. The only one I could not find was a Latias."

"Where are they now?" Giovanni asked.

"The Pokemon are all being unloaded by my men into your laboratory facilities," J responded. "I thought it best to give you the Soul Dew in person." She reached into her pocket and withdrew a fragment of what appeared to belong to a sphere, although its composition was unlike that of any other material she had ever encountered before. A mysterious blue aura pulsated through the shard, although it felt cold to Giovanni's touch.

"Yes... this is it," he said softly. He looked up at Hunter J. "Do you know why it is called the Soul Dew?" he asked her. Without waiting for an answer, he ploughed on. "The Soul Dew contains the essence of a Pokemon known as Latios," he said. "Several years ago, the city of Alto Mare in Johto was under threat from a tsunami. Latios sacrificed his life for the city, and when he died his soul was left behind in what is known as the Soul Dew."

"So, that blue aura is..."

"Yes, it's Latios," Giovanni answered. "And I will use this fragment of the Soul Dew to bring him back to life."

"And just how will you do that?" J asked, with raised eyebrows. "I know you've made huge strides in cloning Pokemon over the last few years, but what you hold in your hands is part of a Latios's soul, not its DNA." Giovanni grinned and reached into a desk drawer in response.

"Ten years ago, my scientists created a device that allows a person to see and battle Ghost Pokemon," he said, fingering the delicate object lovingly. "It's called the Silph Scope. Its use goes beyond merely seeing ghosts, however. All it takes is to install it in a specialized machine."

"Are you telling me that this Silph Scope can bring Pokemon back from the dead?" J asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Giovanni said, looking her in the eyes. "It's the reason I commissioned the creation of this device when I assumed control of Silph Co. a decade ago. Using it to find and battle Ghost Pokemon was just a reason to market the device and make a profit." He looked down at the Soul Dew clenched in one hand and the Silph Scope in the other.

"With this, I can bring Latios back to life," he murmured. "And then, I will need only Latias and Ho-Oh to begin."

* * *

"So you want to return Wobbuffet to Team Rocket?" Brock asked. Ash nodded.

"I know that they aren't exactly considerate people, but I know what it feels like to be missing a friend," he said.

"They'd never do it for you," Dawn warned.

"That's what sets me apart from them," Ash answered.

"Umm, guys?" Rey called from further up the path, "we have a slight problem here."

"What is it?" Ash asked, as they rounded the corner.

"This massive cliff," Rey answered, gazing up at the towering escarpment only a few feet away.

"It's not exactly a problem," May said. "All we have to do is use our flying Pokemon to get up there."

"Flying?" Rey asked, a little faintly. She took several steps backwards into Brock. "Why don't we walk around it instead?"

"This cliff is the first outcrop of the Tohjo Mountain Range," Brock answered. "Beyond this there are some foothills and then the actual mountains. At the dead centre and on the border between Kanto and Johto is Mount Silver. Walking around it would take days."

"Besides," Ash added, "the quickest way to go is over this cliff. Once we're up there it's only a couple of hours to Tohjo Falls, and then we can follow the river south to Pallet Town. We'll save a lot of time."

"Well then, can I walk around and catch up to you guys later?" Rey asked nervously.

"Hang on," Dawn said, frowning. "I remember when we were going through that secret passageway near Viridian City with the Frontier Brains; you were terrified of getting in and out of it. You had to be calmed down by a Sweet Scent." She took a breath and looked the older trainer in the eyes. "Rey, are you afraid of heights?" she asked.

Acutely aware that everybody was watching her, Rey blushed, pulled the rim of her hat down to shield her eyes and muttered, "Yes."

"But you were fine before, when you got Wobbuffet to the Battle Tower so quickly," Brock pointed out.

"I was so worried about Wobbuffet that I didn't even think about it," she admitted. "Plus, my eyes were closed."

"Close them again?" May suggested.

"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed.

"But all I'll be able to think of this time is that I'm in the air and flying?" Rey said, her eyes wide. "What if I fall off?"

"Don't," Ash advised, calling out Staraptor. "Take her up and hurry back!"

"Starrr!" Staraptor nodded, flapping into flight and grabbing Rey's bag with its talons.

"Hold on tight to his legs, Rey!" Ash shouted as Staraptor soared upwards.

"No! No! Let me down!" she screamed. "Put me back down right now! _I'm going to kill you, Ash Ketchum_!" Ash laughed as Staraptor soared over the face of the cliff, reappearing only a moment later with Rey conspicuously absent.

"Ready, everyone?" he asked, calling out Charizard and Pidgeot.

"Of course!" Dawn said brightly. "I've always wanted to ride a Pidgeot!"

"Then I'll go with May and Wobbuffet on Charizard," Brock said, patting the fire-type on the wing.

"You can handle another trip, right Staraptor?" Ash asked.

"Starap!"

Ash swung his legs over Staraptor's back and held on tightly to the crest. "Let's go!" he shouted, and Staraptor immediately beat his wings with an almost frenetic fury, so great was his joy to be flying for even such a short while. Ash whooped and let go of the crest, holding onto his Pokemon with only his knees as it accelerated at an incredible pace. They burst over the edge of the cliff, Staraptor's belly just clearing the soil, and landed in a flurry of wing-beats in the midst of a clearing.

Ash dismounted and stretched, noticing the forest that stretched out around them and towards the foothills. "That was fun, huh?" he asked Staraptor as the flying-type to the sky once more.

"Ash!" Rey screamed, storming over to him. "You'd better run, because if I catch up to you."

"Easy, easy," Brock said, jumping off of Charizard as Dawn arrived on Pidgeot. "We're up here now, so it's really nothing to get so angry about."

"Agreed," May said as she walked over to the edge to see how far up they'd flown, holding onto a nearby tree for safety. "It really wasn't all that bad."

"It was horrible!" Rey shouted.

"It's about to get worse," a cold voice said. Paul dropped out of the tree May was holding, landing lightly and grabbing the Coordinator by the arm. Breaking her grip on the bark, he manoeuvred her stunned body so that she leaned precariously over the edge.

"Hello, Ash," he said in an almost friendly tone. "Long time no see."


	38. Betrayal

**Please don't ask me how I got this update done so fast, because I honestly have no idea. I just hope that you'll all enjoy it; most of this chapter is just one big battle!**

* * *

Ash felt his insides turn to ice at the sight of May dangling precariously over the edge of the cliff. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. He could barely hear. All he could see was May, her face pale, her eyes swimming with fear.

"Hello, Ash," Paul said, sounding almost friendly. "Long time no see. How've you been?"

"What do you want?" Ash asked, and Paul quickly dropped the facade.

"You have something I need," he said, steel in his voice. "Give me the GS Ball and I won't drop her. It's as simple as that."

"What if I don't have it anymore?" Ash asked. "I might have given it away, or buried it somewhere."

"The very fact that you ask that question in that tone proves that you do have it," Paul responded. "Drop the act, Ash; it's pathetic. Give it to me now." He noticed Dawn reaching slowly towards a Poke Ball at her waist and shook his head. "Don't any of you bother trying to take out your Pokemon," he said. "James! Cover them!"

James dropped out of a tree on the edge of the forest and approached slowly. "This isn't what I agreed to do," he said to Paul. "You told me that you needed help capturing some Pokemon. If I'd known this was what you would resort to, holding a girl over the edge of a cliff... I would have rather stayed in that cell and died like you planned me to when you betrayed me."

"That wish is my command," Cassidy shouted. At the sound of her voice, everybody turned to the cliff edge to see Cassidy, Butch, and Damian clambering over the side, the latter two exhausted.

"What are you doing here?" Paul demanded of Damian roughly. Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Is that any way to talk to your brother?" he asked. "We're after the Plates, and your blue-haired friend here happens to have one of them; the Insect Plate if I'm no mistaken." James gaped.

"How... how..."

"You practically told us yourself," Cassidy snarled. "_'I hope you find that green plate of yours'_; none of us said what it looks like!"

"You bastard," Brock said in a deathly quiet tone that nevertheless managed to capture everyone's attention.

"Who, me?" Damian yelped, realizing that the breeder's eyes were fixated on him.

"So you work with Team Rocket... I should have known that would be all you ended up good for after the last time we met," he growled.

"We've met before?" Damian asked, confused.

"Brock, who is this guy?" Ash asked, his eyes not straying from May's terrified face.

"Don't you remember, Ash?" Brock asked. "Think back to the very start of your Pokemon journey. You, Misty, and I were walking through the forest towards Vermillion City when we found a stray Charmander on a rocky outcrop. Its trainer had abandoned it there, and was bragging in the nearby Pokemon Centre of how many strong Pokemon he had to compensate for it."

"Why does everyone have to keep bringing up that weak little Charmander?" Damian asked in frustration. "First it's James talking about it, and now you! It was ten years ago, give it a rest already. That Charmander was the most pathetic -" He didn't get any further. Charizard let out a bellow of rage and flew straight towards him, shooting out intense streams of fire at his old trainer, his eyes crimson with rage.

Taking advantage of the interruption, Cassidy leapt out of Charizard's path and sent out both Raticate and Houndoom. "Attack him!" she screamed, pointing towards James. "Kill him now!" Dazed by Charizard's sudden attack and his own foolishness in admitting his possession of the Meadow Plate, James didn't even realize that his life was in danger. In the corner of his eyes he caught sight of a tinge of red, turned, and saw the intense Overheat shot from Houndoom's jaws about to consume his body.

Fortunately, Brock, Dawn, and Rey were far more aware.

Two blasts of water intercepted the flames, reducing it to steam mere inches from James's body; he instinctively covered his eyes and turned away, the steam still hot enough to scald his bare skin.

"James, _move_!" Brock roared as Dawn's Empoleon leapt back to her side, its Aqua Jet finished. "Get behind us now! We'll keep you protected!"

Almost unaware of what was happening between Charizard and Damian, Cassidy and James, Ash ran. To his racing mind, it seemed as if he was moving in slow motion as he charged towards Paul and May, desperate to save the girl he loved. Paul's eyes caught sight of his movement, and his gaze shifted from that of Charizard and Damian towards Ash.

"Not a chance," he said softly, letting go of May's wrist. "Bye bye."

"_Ash!_" she screamed, terror clouding her voice as she scrabbled desperately at the loose rock before plummeting out of sight.

"May! _No_!" he shouted. He moved almost without guidance; as one arm dealt Paul a devastating blow to the jaw, the other reached towards his belt. "Bulbasaur! Bayleef! Use your Vine Whip and catch her! Staraptor, use Quick Attack and get below her now!" As Staraptor shot downwards, Bulbasaur and Bayleef appeared, their vines already extended as they sought to catch sight of their target. May screamed as the rock face shot by, still trying to get a purchase on the cliffside but now tumbling head over heels.

And then it was over.

Two sets of vines wrapped securely around her body, halting her fall abruptly. Staraptor supported her weight from below as Bulbasaur and Bayleef reeled their vines in, slowly pulling her back up the cliff. She gasped hoarsely, her limbs trembling with fear and adrenaline at her near miss.

"It's okay, May, I've got you," Ash reassured her as he reached over the edge, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back onto the ground. "Are you alright?" She nodded, unable to speak, her heart still pounding.

Paul climbed slowly to his feet, wiping a dribble of blood from his mouth. "You knew it would come to this," he said to Ash quietly. "You've known it since Oak told you I'm after the GS Ball."

"And I'm ready for it too," Ash retorted, moving May away from the cliff edge, his hand reaching towards his Poke Balls.

"Let's say three-on-three, type-on-type," Paul said, grabbing a Ball of his own. "There won't be any doubt over who the stronger trainer is this time."

* * *

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang on that Swampert!" Cassidy screamed.

"Beat it back with Razor Leaf, Venusaur!" Rey shouted.

"Hitmontop, stop it with a Triple Kick!" Butch commanded.

"Use your Drill Peck on Hitmontop, Empoleon," Dawn shouted.

"Flamethrower! Empoleon is part steel!" Cassidy shouted at her Houndoom.

"Knock them all away with a Hydro Cannon, Swampert!" Brock ordered.

"There's too much going on, too many Pokemon involved!" Butch shouted to Cassidy frantically. "I can't keep track of what I'm supposed to attacking or countering!"

"Your battle skills need work!" Brock shouted to them both. "You don't have a chance!"

"My Houndoom is stronger than any Pokemon you have!" Cassidy screamed back, looking almost deranged.

"It isn't about strength; it's about teamwork and heart!" Dawn called back, Empoleon demonstrating her words as it took Raticate out of the battle. Cassidy saw her opening as Empoleon moved too far forwards.

"Houndoom, get it back with your Faint Attack!" she shouted. Houndoom lunged forwards viciously and was promptly flattened a Seed Bomb from Rey's Venusaur.

"I told you; teamwork," Dawn grinned as Cassidy looked at her two defeated Pokemon, absolutely flabbergasted.

"Hitmontop, use Mega Kick!" Butch shouted.

"Sludge!" James shouted, calling out Weezing.

"So, you've stopped hiding behind them, have you?" Cassidy taunted.

"I don't need to hide from you," James growled. He looked back at Brock, Dawn, and Rey. "Thanks for saving me," he said softly. "I'll take her on from here."

"But," Dawn began. Brock grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"This is James's fight," he told her.

Cassidy grinned as she recalled her Houndoom and Raticate, fingering the last Poke Ball on her belt. "I'm going to enjoy this," she murmured. "Sableye, let's go!"

* * *

"Charizard, back off," Ash ordered. "I hate Damian too, but at least give him the chance to see how strong you are in an actual battle against other Pokemon."

"Brave words," Paul sneered. "You'll need everything you have to go against my Pokemon and win. And since your Charizard is busy with my brother... Magmortar, go!" The massive fire-type burst out in a blaze of red light, roaring a challenge towards Ash.

"I'm disappointed in you, Paul," Ash said. "You're taking advantage of my Charizard destroying your brother in battle? I expected more. But since you've chosen a fire-type, I'll go with Cyndaquil!"

"Cinda," Cyndaquil said, sniffing the air and igniting the flame on its back. Paul burst out laughing.

"You're battling my Magmortar with a Cyndaquil?" he said. "Are you really that desperate to lose?"

"We've got some techniques ready for you," Ash shot back. "Bayleef, you're in there too!"

"What do you mean 'Bayleef is in there too'?" Paul snapped.

"It's a three-on-three battle, isn't it?" Ash asked. "You're not saying that you meant one at a time, are you? Where's the challenge in that?" Paul grimaced.

"At the same time it is then," he growled. "Torterra, come on out!" Then a truly evil grin split across his face. "No matter what you do against Magmortar and Torterra, you'll never be able to beat my last Pokemon," he said, holding up a violet Poke Ball that was crossed with jet-black streaks. "The Dark Ball takes the power of a Pokemon and increases it to the highest level possible. And what better power to use than that of a legendary Pokemon?" He smirked as the colour drained from Ash's face. "Celebi, let's go!"

Ash watched aghast as the once pure and gentle Time-travel Pokemon emerged, a dark aura pulsating around it. He clenched his fists in anger as he glared across at Paul. "What you've done... it's just evil," he hissed.

"I do what I need to do," Paul said with a shrug. "What's your response? Bulbasaur?"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said fiercely, springing forward fiercely.

"Not this time, Bulbasaur," Ash said, holding the grass-type back. "I have the perfect counter for that Celebi, and her name is Latias!"

"Latias?" Paul said sharply as the legendary Pokemon burst from her Poke Ball. "So that's where she went to... No wonder we couldn't find it."

"Ready, Paul?" Ash asked, snapping him out of his brief reverie. "Cyndaquil, let's show why you're the perfect match for Magmortar! It's time!"

"Cyndaaa_... QUILLLL_!" Cyndaquil screamed, its entire body beginning to glow with a pulsating white aura. Its body slowly lengthened, its pointed snout becoming rounder, and the flame at the centre of its back began to migrate towards the top of its head and the end of its back, all covered under the glow.

"No way," May whispered.

"Quilava!" the Pokemon shouted, throwing away the last vestiges of luminescent light.

"Perfect," Ash said with satisfaction. "I knew you were ready to evolve."

"We have even started battling yet," Paul growled. "This doesn't make any difference at all! Flamethrower!"

"Smokescreen!"

"Razor Leaf!"

"Vine Whip!"

"Fire Punch!"

"Lava Plume!"

It was a battle like May had never seen before. Scarcely had one attack been called when another was ordered. The Pokemon ducked and weaved, attacking at every opportunity and ducking away at the last moment before launching a counter-offensive. The action was a blur, and how Ash and Paul could keep track of what was happening with each Pokemon she had no idea; she could barely follow it herself.

Ash called for a Flamethrower from Quilava, and merely a second later ordered it to use Smokescreen and then Quick Attack. In the brief moments between commands, Paul took advantage and ordered his Magmortar to use Fire Spin, followed up almost immediately by a Confuse Ray and a Thunder Punch. And yet, Bayleef and Torterra were still battling too. Each Pokemon moved with a sinewy grace, the other's attacks barely sliding by before they launched a reciprocal attack. It was impossible to keep a track of, the absolute speed and ferocity of each attack, yet none seemed to make a hit.

"Flame Wheel, Vine Whip, Swift, Body Slam, Smokescreen, Headbutt!" Ash shouted without taking time for a breath.

"Lava Plume, Wood Hammer, Faint Attack, Leaf Storm, Karate Chop, Giga Drain!" Paul shouted.

Each seemed to anticipate the other's moves before they were launched, and so they ordered a perfect counter-attack before being put on the defence again. By some unspoken agreement, both Latias and Celebi were not being ordered to battle at this time. May thought she understood why; the battle with two Pokemon was confusing and hard enough to deal with; three would have been impossible. Then Ash finally saw an opening and seized his chance.

"Quilava, Flame Wheel-Flare Blitz combo," he shouted.

"Flamethrower," Paul ordered. The fiery stream of flames shot from Magmortar's mouth and smashed into Quilava; exactly what Ash had been aiming for. The Flame Wheel was blown away by the ferocity of the attack, but it acted as a protective shield for the Flare Blitz underneath. The remaining Flamethrower enshrouded Quilava and its Flare Blitz, causing the attack to be even more powerful than it would be normally. With the power of two attacks in one, Quilava smashed into Magmortar, sending it reeling backwards where it collapsed.

But in the time it had taken Ash to order the dual attack, Paul had seen his own opportunity. Bayleef was waiting for a command that was not forthcoming, and she was hit by a consecutive combination of Wood Hammer and Leaf Storm. Both Bayleef and Magmortar collapsed, unable to go on any further.

"Great job, Bayleef," Ash said softly, recalling her. "You did great; I couldn't have asked for more." He turned to Quilava, whose four legs were trembling with exhaustion and whose flames had shut off; the fire-type looked as if it was about to collapse. "That was fantastic," he said, gently lifting the tired Pokemon in his arms. "You proved just how strong you really were to him. I'm incredibly proud of you."

"Quill..." Quilava murmured, for a moment sounding like a Cyndaquil again.

"Take a good rest," Ash said, recalling the fire-type. He turned to Paul, who had recalled Magmortar and Torterra without comment. "And now the real battle begins," he said.

"Your Latias is no match against a Dark Pokemon," Paul scowled. "Give up now."

"Fortunately, Latias has a power you don't even know about," Ash said. "It's amazing what a Pokemon can do after they've recovered from the Pokerus." Paul scowled again.

"Leaf Storm!" he ordered.

"DragonBreath!"

"Confusion!"

"Psychic!"

"Perish Song!" Paul shouted. He looked across at Ash. "It's now or never," he said as a cacophony of screeches filled the air. "Think you can defeat this?"

* * *

In contrast to the furious and fast-paced battle between Ash and Paul, James's battle against Cassidy seemed almost boring. But for James, it was no less important than the triple battle only a few feet away; his very life depended on the outcome.

"Sludge," James ordered. Cassidy laughed.

"Your poison attacks won't even dent my Sableye," she chuckled as the attack hit her Pokemon. "You've got no chance against me. Sableye, use Shadow Ball and follow it up with a Zen Headbutt!"

"Nyai," Sableye grinned, launching a black ball at Weezing and using it as cover while it ran towards Weezing, the top of its head glowing blue.

"Weezing, stop that with a Sludge Bomb!" James cried out desperately. The two attacks collided and nullified against each other, but through the debris of fused attacks, Sableye launched itself straight at Weezing. The powerful psychic attack smashed directly into the poison-type, and Weezing crashed to the ground in pain.

"Follow it up with Shadow Claw," Cassidy said indifferently, and Weezing roared in pain as the attack hit its mark.

"This is bad," Brock said in a low voice to Dawn and Rey. "Weezing can't keep going like this. One more attack and it's finished. Get ready; we may have to step in and save James."

"Finish it off with Power Gem," Cassidy ordered.

"We aren't finished yet!" James shouted. "Weezing, use Pain Split!" A red beam shot out of Weezing and smashed straight into Sableye. The ghost-type gasped and fell to its knees as a massive surge of pain tore through its body, draining away its strength.

Weezing, on the other hand, suddenly felt significantly more powerful and rested. Its body seemed to crackle with energy, and it was able to regain the air.

"Much better," James grinned. "Time to turn this around, Weezing! Use your Will-O-Wisp and follow it with an Assurance!" A massive blue ball of fire sped towards Sableye; it tried to escape, but the sudden shock of losing so much energy prevented it from moving. The flames enveloped the ghost-type, causing it to scream in pain. Weezing burst through the fiery mire, its body coloured black, colliding with Sableye and forcing it out of the flames. The ghost-type struggled to its knees and collapsed, unable to move.

"Assurance... it doubles the power of the move if the opponent was damaged just before the attack was launched," James told a stunned Cassidy. "Your Sableye never had a chance."

Damian staggered over towards Butch and Cassidy, his clothes singed and his entire body reeking of smoke. "That Charizard just took out all of my Pokemon, one after the other, without even getting a scratch," he gasped. "I've never seen anything like it; it destroyed me, and it wasn't even being commanded!"

Charizard snorted with disdain as it stomped over towards Brock, Rey, Dawn, and James. Its eyes continued to glow fiercely as it glared at Damian, and it let out a roar that caused everyone's heart to skip with fear.

"You see what your ignorance has done?" Brock asked him quietly. "In your desire for strong Pokemon, you cast aside the strongest Pokemon of all. You lost the chance to grow and learn with your Pokemon. It's obvious that you and Paul are brothers. Neither of you take the time with your Pokemon."

Further comment was forestalled by a massive explosion from the battle between Latias and Celebi. Everyone coughed as a massive cloud of smoke blew across them, and when it cleared they saw that both Latias and Celebi were unmoving on the ground.

Ash's and Paul's eyes never left each other as they silently recalled their fallen Pokemon. Almost in unison, they both slowly backed away, neither one daring to turn their back to the other.

"Come on, guys," Ash called, moving slowly towards the cliff. "This battle is over. We're going back to the Battle Tower."

"Back to Headquarters," Paul ordered Damian, Cassidy, and Butch. "You get the Plates back to Giovanni, and I'll give him the Celebi." His eyes bored into Ash. "This isn't over," he warned. "I won't stop until I get the GS Ball."

"And I won't stop until it's destroyed," Ash replied as he released Pidgeot and climbed onto its back. Paul eyed him a moment longer before turning and vanishing into the forest, followed by Damian, Cassidy and Butch.

"What about you?" Brock asked James as May, Dawn, and an unusually pensive Wobbuffet climbed onto Charizard's back. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know..." James answered miserably. "I can't ever go back to base; they'd kill me on the spot if I did. As of this moment, I am officially out of Team Rocket."

"Come with us," Dawn offered. "We've got your Wobbuffet, and I'm sure it'll be glad of a friendly face."

"Wobba wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed, throwing James a makeshift salute from its perch on Charizard's back.

"You can ride on Staraptor," Ash said. "It's only a short flight, so try not to fall off."

"What are you two going to ride on?" James asked Brock and Rey, hesitating to take the last flying Pokemon.

"I'll just get my Sudowoodo to use Mimic," Brock said, sending out the rock-type and recalling Swampert.

"And I have a Xatu I can fly on," Rey added, switching her Venusaur with it.

"Over your fear of heights then, I guess?" Dawn asked, watching her beadily.

"It doesn't really seem all that important at the moment, in light of what's just happened," Rey said, avoiding the young Coordinator's eyes.

"Ready to go, everyone?" Ash asked. "Pidgeot; back to the Battle Tower!"

* * *

"What? He's captured a Latias?" Giovanni exclaimed incredulously. Paul nodded.

"I battled it with the Celebi I just gave you. It's been trained to an amazingly powerful level, and it even drew against the Dark Celebi. I think he said it was infected with the Pokerus before."

"And they were heading this way?" Giovanni asked.

"They were," Paul answered. "For now, they've gone back to the Battle Tower."

"Then we have to go and retrieve it immediately," Giovanni decided.

"No," Paul cut in quickly. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's an incredibly powerful trainer; on par with Cynthia. And it's not just the Latias we need from him. He has the GS Ball too."

"What?" Giovanni asked quietly.

"And one of his companions has the Insect Plate," Damian added.

"Who?" Giovanni asked.

"The guy Paul captured and then took with him," Damian said with relish. "James has the Plate."

"I wanted him killed," Giovanni said to Paul quietly. "Now he's escaped, and with a Plate to boot!"

"If I hadn't taken James with me to Hoenn, the Insect Plate would never have been found," Paul said defensively. "It fell out of a tree, and James was the one who decided to take it with him. I didn't recognize it for what it was, since I was never told what the Plates look like! If I had been given that information, I would have taken it from him easily."

Giovanni stood and began pacing. "So this trainer has a Latias, the GS Ball, and his companion has the Insect Plate," he mused. "Yet you say that we shouldn't go to the Battle Tower and take it from him; do you have an alternative, Paul?"

"I do," Paul answered. "I know Ash better than he realizes; he was on a course straight for Tohjo Falls. He knows that going to Tohjo Falls and then following the river south is the fastest way to the coast. My guess is that he'll head for the river again, but this time he'll go around the cliff."

"North or south?" Giovanni asked.

"North," Paul said without hesitation. "He'll circle the cliffs north until he reaches the river and head south from there. We can trap him there; the river is only a few hours away from here. We circle the path, surround him, and take Latias and the GS Ball away from him. Then we confiscate his Pokemon and bring him back here."

"And then I will only need to clone Latios, capture Ho-Oh, and find the Zap Plate," Giovanni murmured.

"What about the Unknown Plate?" Damian asked in surprise. "We didn't have it with us."

"The Unknown Plate was found in the ruins of Pokemopolis," Giovanni answered. "It is now stored with the other plates."

"Only Latios and Ho-Oh?" Paul interrupted. "There's one more, isn't there?"

"One more?" Giovanni repeated, puzzled. "No, I have all of the other legendary Pokemon; Hunter J, Bashou, Buson, and a lucky pair of Grunts saw to that."

"Ah, but you wouldn't remember, would you?" Paul said softly. "Your memory was lost."

"My memory was lost? What are you talking about?" Giovanni asked.

"Over ten years ago, you commissioned a group of Rocket scientists led by Dr. Fuji to clone Mew."

"Yes, I remember that. The experiment was a failure; the lab exploded, every scientist was killed, and we abandoned the project," Giovanni said.

"You're wrong," Paul said. "The experiment was a complete success. You cloned Mew and created a new legendary Pokemon; Mewtwo. Check your files, if you don't believe me."

"How am I supposed to check files that aren't there?" Giovanni asked in exasperation.

"Go into the secret database and enter the password 'Mewclonealpha'," Paul said. Eying his son suspiciously, Giovanni nevertheless opened the monitor of the computer and dubiously typed it in."

"What the?" he shouted in surprise as dozens of files began popping up.

"Happy reading," Paul said, turning away.

"But how did you know?" Giovanni asked.

"Simple," Paul answered. "Mewtwo wiped your mind; not mine. Damian, let's go; I want to take a look at the legendary Pokemon we have."


	39. Revival

**This chapter was actually completed over two weeks ago, but I've been waiting before uploading it. Why? Well, the first chapter of _Final Challenge_ was posted on September 6th, 2007. And I plan to end it on September 5th, exactly one year to the day after it was begun. To me, there's something meaningful about that. And it makes sense to post the final chapters relatively close together so that I don't keep you unfairly hanging. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long with this update. I'm writing the final chapter now, but I'm running out of time to complete it. It basically has to be done by the 30th since I'll have no time to write for at least a week after that. Anyways, on with the chapter!**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

The Beast flew, rage still clouding its heart as it searched for its child. The child stolen by humans for a second time. Its speed was so great as it passed over land and sea that it seemed to those who saw it from below to be no more than a silver streak of light, a trick of the dimming light perhaps. Where its child was it knew not, but it sensed that the distance between them was shrinking. But it was more than desperation to be reunited with its progeny that drew the Beast onwards.

As it flew it felt a great longing, a desire, an unavoidable pull in the same direction it sensed its child. As time passed, the pull seemed to become stronger and stronger. Others were in danger too, not just the child.

The urge to help was irresistible.

And that was when it saw it, in the dimming light of twilight.

The Golden One.

Its rival, its friend, its enemy, its companion, its equal; the Golden One seemed to shine with a light that the failing sun did not possess. It amplified the area, bathing its surroundings in a beautiful and radiant glow. The Beast slowed its speed and began to circle cautiously, one that the Golden One quickly joined into. They circled each other, gazing at their equal and their opposite, communicating through their eyes.

And then the Golden One broke away, gaining height and moving in the same direction that the Beast was drawn.

The Beast hesitated for only a moment before turning and following. Where they were bound, they knew not. But the Beast was determined to help its child, and there were the others who were also in danger. Yes, the others, the ones that the Golden One was bound to help.

They were rivals, true, but in this act they would be allies. The Beast and the Golden One united.

None could stand before them.

* * *

Anabel sat at the desk in her small house that lay only a short distance from the Battle Tower, wondering whether her hair was long enough to attempt putting it into a ponytail for once. She had only just grasped her hairbrush, when a knock came at the door. She sighed and placed the hairbrush back on the desk before standing and leaving her bedroom. "Come in," she called as she began to descend the stairs. "It's not locked."

The door creaked open and she ran down the last few stairs in delight, throwing her arms around the man who stood in the entranceway. "Noland!" she shouted. "What are you doing here?" He laughed and twirled her around once before stepping into the house.

"When was the last time any of us visited one another?" he asked. "The last time we were all together was at that Press Conference, and before that it was the match between Ash and Cynthia. I can't even remember what the time before that was."

"Neither can I," Anabel admitted. "It was probably either at Ash's induction ceremony, or at Spenser's retirement party." She let go of him and stood back. "Well don't just stand there, come in! Do you want a drink or anything?"

"I'd love a glass of Sitrus Berry juice," he said, and Anabel made a face.

"Ugh, that stuff's too sweet for me," she said. "I can get you some Oran Berry juice though." Noland cocked an eyebrow.

"Oran Berry? I guess you really like that blend of sour and spicy. But I may as well; it's been a while since I tried it. Who knows, I might like it this time around!"

"I'll be right back," Anabel promised as she moved towards the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable if you like; do you have any bags with you?"

"Just the rucksack on my back; it's got a change of clothes in there among some other things," he answered, moving to take a look at the pictures that adorned the walls and cabinets situated around the room. A sad smile crossed his face as the memories they preserved seemed to leap into focus around him. There was one of Anabel battling Lucy, the last match she'd needed to win before becoming a Frontier Brain. Another showed Anabel grouped with her six Pokemon; Alakazam, Hypno, Metagross, Espeon, Xatu, and Grumpig. There was one portrait he cast a fond eye over that depicted her with the rest of the Frontier Brains, Spenser, Ash, and Scott included. That had been a fantastic day of fun at the Battle Colosseum just after its construction had been completed, he recalled.

His eye was drawn to another photo standing on the mantelpiece a few feet away. It depicted Anabel standing next to a tall man he did not recognize, their arms on each other's shoulders, and big smiles on both their faces. He took a closer look, intrigued. The man had a likeable air about him and there was genuine warmth in his eyes. A Staraptor could be seen, barely visible over his shoulder. He heard footsteps and took a step back, turning as Anabel entered the room.

"I've got your juice," she said, sliding through the doorway and trying not to accidentally bump against the wall with the tray she carried. "I brought out some cookies too; I hope you don't mind Digestives, they're all I have in the house at the moment."

"Digestives sound great," Noland said with a smile, settling comfortably into a nearby armchair.

"Here's your juice," Anabel said, passing over a tall glass filled with a sparkling blue juice.

"Thanks," he said, taking it gratefully.

"So what brings you out this way?" Anabel asked. "I have a hard time believing that it's just to see me for a few days."

"Believe it or not, that's exactly why I'm here," Noland replied, helping himself to a cookie. "I'm bored of being on my own at the Battle Factory, and challenges have been pretty thin on the ground recently. It's been ages since I went to see some friends, so I figured why not just head out and meet up with some people? I hope you don't mind me showing up so unexpectedly."

"Not at all!" Anabel beamed. "I've been feeling kind of lonely too, recently. It's been so long since somebody stopped by for pleasure as opposed to a battle. Ash and some of his friends were actually here yesterday, but they only stopped for a night before leaving this morning. He promised to stop by again after dropping something off at Professor Oak's lab though, so I'm hoping to see him again soon."

"Looks like I just missed him then," Noland said. "Too bad he was in such a hurry; I'd like to show him how much stronger Dugtrio has gotten already." He took a tentative sip of his juice and immediately pulled a face. Anabel giggled.

"Looks like you're still not a fan of it," she said, taking the glass from him. "Would you like some Miltank Milk instead?"

"Like it? I'd love it!" he exclaimed. "It'd go perfectly with those Digestives! Why did you bring in that juice if you had the milk?"

"I just wanted to see the expression on your face," she grinned, backing into the kitchen. Noland sighed and sank back into the chair, closing his eyes briefly.

"Hey, Anabel," he called, his eyes still shut.

"Hmm?"

"Who's that guy you're with in the picture on the mantelpiece?" he asked. Anabel poked her head back around the door, curious about what picture he meant.

"Oh, that picture," she said. "That's my cousin, Reggie; he lives in Sinnoh. I only met him the one time, but he was a really nice guy and a fantastic Pokemon breeder. That Staraptor behind him is the first Pokemon he captured. I never met his other family members; he didn't seem to want to talk about them all that much."

"Oh... that's too bad," Noland said, opening his eyes and turning to look at the picture again. "He seems like a really likeable guy. Which side are you related on?"

"Well his dad was my dad's brother," she answered. "They had a big falling out before I was born, and my Dad cut off contact with him. When he died, Reggie somehow heard about it and sent a condolence card. He was the only one on my Dad's side who did. I have no idea how he managed to find our address or anything, but I sent him a reply thanking him. We've kept in touch since then, and when I toured Sinnoh last year I arranged to drop in at his house. That's when we got the picture taken."

There was a knock at the door, and Anabel looked at it in surprise. "Two in a day?" she asked almost wonderingly.

"I'll get it," Noland said, standing and stretching. "You finish getting rid of that disgusting juice," he added with a wink. Anabel laughed.

"Sure, whatever," she chuckled, heading back into the kitchen. As she rinsed out Noland's glass she heard him opening the front door, followed by a few indiscernible whispers. There were footsteps and then a knock on the kitchen door. She turned and shrieked, dropping the glass by accident.

"Hi Anabel," Ash said sheepishly. "Mind if we stay for a bit longer?"

"Chahhh," Pikachu groaned, having leapt off of Ash's shoulder in an attempt to catch the glass which was now firmly wedged between his ears.

"Oops," Anabel said, blushing slightly. "Sorry about that Pikachu, and thanks for catching it; this glass is one of my favourites." She reached down and gently took it off of Pikachu's head, scratching him quickly behind one ear in thanks.

"So what brings you back here so soon, Ash?" she asked. "I thought you were going to Tohjo Falls and then Pallet Town before visiting me again."

"Paul caught up to us," Ash answered. "He was waiting for us on the cliff."

"Did... did he get it?" Anabel asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"No," Ash answered, shaking his head. "He challenged me to a battle over it, which we drew. If it wasn't for Bayleef, Quilava, and Latias..."

"Sit down, sit down," Anabel urged, ushering him back into the sitting room where Noland, May, Brock, Dawn, and Rey sat, chatting. James stood slightly to one side, a little unsure of what he should do, Wobbuffet by his side. Anabel raised an eyebrow when she saw him. "Looks like you've got another friend with you," she observed.

"'Friend' might be a little too nice a term," James said.

"What do I call you then?" Anabel asked.

"Friend is fine," Ash interrupted. "We've saved each other's lives a few times over the years. And you're allowed to sit down, James." James nodded and moved slowly over to the couch where he sat slightly hesitantly next to Dawn, an emotion that Ash couldn't identify sparkling in his green eyes.

"Your friends were just telling me what's been going on, Ash," Noland said as Anabel returned to the kitchen. He leaned forward, scrutinizing Ash closely. "Are you okay? You're looking very stressed and tired." Ash nodded.

"I'll be okay," he said. "The battle today was really draining, and I was so worried that I might lose May when Paul was holding her over the cliff. I just need some sleep, that's all."

"And what will you do then?"

"I'm heading out again tomorrow," Ash answered. "Paul knows we're here; no point in just hanging around waiting for him to show up. It would be putting you and Anabel in danger, not to mention all of Anabel's staff at the Battle Tower."

"You're not going the same way again?" Noland asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"No; Paul knows we were trying to get to Tohjo Falls, and he's bound to have some people watching that location for us."

"Some people?" Anabel asked as she re-entered the room with a fresh tray of drinks. "How many people are travelling with this guy?"

"Paul's part of Team Rocket," James said. "He has been since he lost in the Sinnoh League. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, is his father."

"So basically Paul could send any amount of people to Tohjo Falls to try and intercept us," Dawn said.

"That's right," James nodded. "Obviously Giovanni trusts his sons more than he does most others; it's why Paul was sent after the GS Ball and Damian after the Plates."

"Makes me wonder how Reggie turned out so nice," Ash muttered, reaching forward to take a glass. "I knew he'd cut off contact with Paul after the Sinnoh League, but I didn't know it was because Paul had joined Team Rocket."

"So if you're not going to Tohjo Falls, where are you going?" Noland asked.

"Circling north," Ash answered. "We can get to the river and follow it south from there. We won't be going over the Falls; there's a smaller distributary not many people know about that we can go along. It'll take us further into the Mount Silver area, but it goes in the same general direction."

"Well then, I'm going with you," Noland decided.

"Huh?" Ash said.

"What?" Anabel asked. "You just got here!"

"Anabel, I'm sorry. But Ash and his friends will need as much help and protection that can be given. The Silver Highlands are full of dangerous, wild Pokemon, and it's rumoured that Team Rocket Headquarters is somewhere in that area too. I have to go."

"Then I'm going too," Anabel said, her face resolute.

"No," Ash said quickly.

"It's not an option," she said, stubbornly crossing her arms.

"It's likely we may run into danger," Noland said, choosing his words carefully. "That's why we need you here."

"Oh, you think I can't handle it?" she shouted, jumping to her feet in anger.

"You could probably handle it better than most of us!" Noland barked, and then took several deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. "You have to be here in case we need to be bailed out," he said more gently. "Call the other Frontier Brains; tell them to come here as soon as they can. If we're in trouble and need help, I'll signal with my modified Poke Ball."

"Modified Poke Ball?" Dawn asked.

"Remember when we were outside of Viridian City?" Noland asked. "I let the other Frontier Brains know I'd found you by sending a green light into the air with a Poke Ball I'd modified. I'll do the same thing this time if we're in danger and need help."

"And what if they don't come?" Anabel asked.

"They will come," Noland said simply, and she nodded; the Frontier Brains were such close friends that none of them would hesitate to help another if the need so arose.

"Then I'll stay here," she said slowly. "The other Frontier Brains will need to be told what's going on."

"Thank you," Noland said softly.

Ash looked away towards the couch where May, Dawn, Wobbuffet, and James sat, taking a big gulp of his juice as he did so. He gagged on reflex as the foul-tasting liquid splashed down his throat, pulling a face that caused Dawn to roar with laughter.

"Sorry, Ash," Anabel sighed, looking around to see the cause of the hilarity. "Looks like you got the Oran Berry Juice."

* * *

"Dere's no way dey're gonna be fooled by dis," Meowth gulped nervously as Jessie, Max, and Drew led him and Silver out from under the trees and into the clearing.

"Quiet," Silver hissed, "act as if you're beaten, not scared. Have faith in Jessie; it's up to her to get us in."

"Yeah, no pressure," she muttered, jerking Meowth's rope sharply and making him stumble.

"Hey, what was dat for?" he whined, barely keeping his balance.

"Zip it, Meowth," she snarled. "You're being taken in for questioning over the location of your partners, Jessie and James. Any more smart-mouthing and you won't be offered this fabulous deal Giovanni has come up with. Understand?" Meowth was about to give a very testy reply when he realized that they were already within hearing range of two Grunts standing guard by the entrance. His mouth went dry as he realized that they were watching the group intently; the closest had an air of cleverness and trickery about him, while the other seemed slightly brutish and dull.

"_I asked if you understand_!" Jessie shouted, yanking the rope harshly and knocking Meowth to the ground, where he was dragged for several feet alongside Silver.

"I understand," he muttered, climbing to his feet and lowering his head in submission. Jessie didn't deign to give him a response, turning instead towards the two Grunt guards.

"S34, reporting in," she said to the closer of the two, throwing a swift salute and managing to remember her supposed identify without glancing at the tag on her black uniform. "I apprehended a known fugitive and an escaped prisoner with the help of these two new recruits." She nodded to each side as she spoke, pointing out both Max and Drew.

"Why aren't they wearing their uniforms?" he guard asked shrewdly. Jessie tapped him lightly on the head with her fist.

"Didn't you hear me?" she said, rolling her eyes. "They're _new recruits_. That idiot tailor hasn't made their uniforms yet; he gets lazier and lazier each time."

"Tell me about it," the second guard nodded, completely taken in by her story and showing off his too-small uniform. "This thing shrunk a month ago, and I still haven't been given a replacement. I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Whatever," the first guard said, sounding bored. "Scan the escaped prisoner. Any Poke Balls on him?"

"Why would a Meowth have Poke Balls?" the second asked, confused. The first groaned and turned on him.

"Idiot!" he seethed. "Everyone was put on the lookout for Silver after he escaped, and this is that man!"

"Well the alert was pulled after that Pokemon Hunter put paid to him," the second Grunt said sulkily. "How was I to know?"

"Hey, that's right!" the first said, whirling back to face Jessie. "Pokemon Hunter J reported his death; how come he's here right now?"

"His Salamence was killed when they crashed, but Silver survived," Jessie bluffed. "He was injured pretty badly, but managed to crawl into the woods underneath the dust cover. We found him unconscious in there."

"Then where did the Salamence go?" he asked cunningly. Jessie seemed to hesitate a moment, but quickly covered it with a haughty expression.

"He didn't know the Salamence was dead, so he recalled it," she said. "When he realized that it had been killed, he buried the Poke Ball in the forest."

"Scan him," the first guard ordered the second. He nodded and took out a calculator-sized device with one small screen and a curved edge which contained the scanner. The guard ran it up and down Silver's torso, over the arms, and down the legs before repeating the manoeuvre at the back.

"He's clean," he reported to the first, who nodded before taking a closer look at Jessie.

"You know, S34, you look very similar to another fugitive; one who was partnered with this Meowth," he said softly.

"This isn't good," Max muttered to himself. Jessie let out a horribly false laugh.

"That vain woman?" she chortled. "Hah, I met her once. I've never met somebody so obsessed with her hair before; she'd never even cut it short. I remember hearing once how a Seviper bit the end off, and she almost killed it with her bare hands!"

"Check her," the first guard ordered. "Check her, and then check the recruits. See what Pokemon they have on them."

"Skorupi... Carnivine... Mime Jr." the second guard reported. "Only one match with the fugitive, and that is Skorupi."

"And the others?" the first barked. The second guard checked Drew first.

"Roselia... Flygon... Furret... Masquerain... Absol," he reported. "My, what a powerful bunch of Pokemon you have!"

"Don't worry about that, what about the last one?" the first guard ordered. "If he has a Salamence or a Seviper on him... well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Sweat began to gather in beads on Max's skin as the second guard examined him with the scanner, checking him extra carefully. He swallowed nervously as the guard checked his back.

"Gardevoir... Mareep... Grovyle... Claydol... Chikorita... No Salamence or Seviper." Max's eyes shot open in surprise.

"Are we clear to go yet?" Jessie asked impatiently. "We need to deliver them to Professor Sebastian."

"Go on then," the first guard said, waving them by. "Get yourselves inside."

Max waited until they were well past the guards before giving in to the temptation to sigh in relief. "I thought we'd be caught for sure," he said.

"No kidding," Silver agreed, "I'm glad we decided to leave Salamence in the forest in case it gave us away."

"I don't particularly care about your Salamence," Jessie said, sounding extremely upset. "What happened to Seviper? Where did it go?" Meowth reached a hand into his mouth, retched, and pulled out an extremely slimy Poke Ball.

"I thought dat dey might be suspicious if dey found a Seviper on you, since it's your best known Pokeemon," he explained. "I snuck it in my mouth off of da twerp's belt when dey weren't looking. You really oughta wash dem more often," he added to Jessie. "Dey taste terrible; like a bunch of varnishes and perfumes mixed tageder."

"It's not from me," Jessie huffed.

"Which way do we go?" Drew asked.

"The laboratory is below ground," Jessie answered. "I'm sure that Moltres and Deoxys would be somewhere nearby to it. Follow me." Then she caught sight of a Grunt rounding the corner as he moved towards them. "Hurry up," she snarled, yanking viciously on Meowth's rope again. "You've got some beans to spill, and the boss is waiting for you."

"I never realized Jessie was such a good actor, what with the way she was treating you," Silver whispered to Meowth once the Grunt had passed them by. Meowth looked at him wryly.

"Acting?" he asked.

* * *

Giovanni paced through the holding area, looking at each legendary Pokemon but not really seeing them. He had a pounding headache; the long-lost and seemingly unknown password and files that Paul had revealed to him had caused cracks in Mewtwo's memory wipe. Now, they were struggling to break through the curious blankness that had covered that part of his mind since the incident occurred.

He had always been confused and suspicious of what had actually transpired; his memory was both prodigious and formidable, but the events he recalled never made sense. One moment he was sitting at his desk, vaguely excited about the prospect of finding... something. He remembered the phone ringing, reaching for it, and then inexplicably standing in a large pile of rubble, a very confused Domino by his side. It did not make sense.

Now at last he knew the reason for this; Mewtwo had wiped his mind. But despite reading all of his old files, he still did not fully comprehend. What was Mewtwo? How had it managed to blank his memory? Had it turned against him, or was it uncontrollable from the start? There were only two things he knew for sure. Mewtwo was extremely powerful, and it had beaten him.

Giovanni did not like to be beaten.

These lost memories straining through the cracks were the key to understanding this creation, of that Giovanni was convinced. The trick was getting to them. Oh, there were brief flashes to be sure. An image of it enshrouded in metal plates... a Nidoking flying through the air... two machines exploding...

How had Paul kept these memories, he wondered. Why had he not forgotten? It was no surprise to Giovanni that Damian lacked knowledge of the creature; to all intensive purposes he was an idiot, a showman with little real talent. Damian would not have been told of Mew's cloning. And Reggie was already estranged from him when cloning had commenced; although he had maintained a very cordial relationship with his youngest brother until recently, he had not contacted his father since informing him he had bought a house in Sinnoh.

He massaged his temples, grimacing. The memories would come in time, he was certain. And when they did, he would have the advantage; Mewtwo would not suspect that his memory wipe could have been lifted. But until those memories were restored, there was work to be done. The cloning of Latios, for example.

He left the holding area and moved down the steel passageway, heading towards the location where Moltres had caused so much havoc when it broke loose. He slipped his hands into his pockets as he moved, reassuring himself with the cool touches of both the Silph Scope and the Soul Dew. He wondered briefly what his mood would be like if the restoration machine had been destroyed by Moltres. The thought was quickly shaken from his mind; he was relieved that it had not been damaged, and it was no use brooding on what might have happened.

At the reinforced steel doors, two grunts stood at attention; they sprang a smart salute as Giovanni passed by, ignoring them completely. He typed his personal code into the keypad at the side, causing the doors to slide open silently. He walked through the doorway and found himself in the massive room where the Moltres had broken free; heading towards a large machine bolted securely into the wall he paid little heed towards the room's other occupants, choosing instead to slot both the Soul Dew and Silph Scope into place, a task he entrusted to nobody else.

"Sebastian!" he shouted, steeping back from the machine, and the scientist emerged from the opposite side.

"Giovanni, sir," Sebastian acknowledged.

"You know what I am after, correct?" Giovanni began. "You understand why I have sought the stone Plates and the legendary Pokemon?"

"Yes; it is all a part of your quest to obtain and control the most powerful Pokemon the world has ever seen, is it not?" Giovanni nodded, then hesitated before phrasing his next question.

"To summon this Pokemon is an incredibly difficult task," he said. "It requires the combined power and influence of the legendary Pokemon and the stone Plates; the Pokemon to call it into our world, and the Plates to anchor it here in a physical form." Sebastian waited without responding, knowing that Giovanni was not just engaging in an idle chat.

"It has come to my attention that a legendary Pokemon may have been improperly cloned, creating a new species," he said carefully. "Who, how, and why are not important at this time, but the resultant species would seem to be just as powerful – if not more so – than the species from which it was created."

"You mean to say that a new species of legendary Pokemon has been created?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes," Giovanni said. "At least, I think it's legendary. I don't know for sure. What I would like to know is, since the ancient texts we are following state that one specimen of each species of legendary Pokemon must be present for it to work..."

"You want to know if this new, human-created legendary Pokemon would need to be there as well," Sebastian completed, frowning in thought. "That is a puzzling situation you have brought up, and I can't give a definitive answer ... On the one hand, this Pokemon did not exist on the prior occasion, but on the other it _i_s a legendary Pokemon..."

"What do you suggest?" Giovanni asked. "Give me your best hypothesis."

"I do not believe it makes that much of a difference," Sebastian said slowly. "Since it is of human conception it may not be necessary, but it would not hinder you if it were to be captured and brought here." Giovanni nodded, deep in thought, before turning to one of the Rockets working along the far wall.

"Cassidy!" he roared, and she hastened to his side. "Find Paul," he ordered, "I need him down here now. And get Damian to contact Hunter J; tell him to give her the psychic fingerprint in the third drawer on my desk so that she can track and capture the creature that emits that frequency."

"Yes, sir," she said, snapping a quick salute before hurrying off. Giovanni turned back to the machine, looking at it for a brief moment. With this he could bring back the dead. With this, his dream could be fulfilled.

"With this, you will be mine," he whispered.

* * *

The steel doors opened just as Jessie was reaching for the keypad; she looked up and locked eyes with Cassidy. A dead feeling swooped through her stomach and she quickly looked away, averting her gaze. But Cassidy seemed not to have noticed any of them; her eyes were glazed as she swept past, intent on finding Paul and Damian as quickly as she could in an effort to get back in Giovanni's good books.

Jessie and Meowth both gave silent sighs of relief when the golden-haired woman had passed. "Dat was too close," Meowth muttered.

"You know her?" Silver enquired.

"She was da one who tried to kill us," Meowth answered. Jessie tugged sharply on his rope.

"Come on," she hissed, "let's go before the doors close!" Silver stepped nimbly through the doorway as it began to slide shut, followed quickly by Drew and Max. Jessie turned away to get her bearings and froze when she saw Giovanni several feet away, his back to them as he contemplated the incredible machine that stood before them.

"Quick, behind dere!" Meowth urged, pointing out a maze-like tangle of barrels and pipes alongside the far wall that was only head-high.

Trying not to be noticed by Giovanni, Professor Sebastian, or one of the dozen or so Grunts that were at work, they snuck over quickly to the structure. Silver had never felt so exposed, his large size an incredible eyesore. He knew that if even one person turned and saw them...

But they made it, without a single person looking around. Max, Drew, and Meowth were all able to stand comfortably, but Jessie and Silver both had to sit to remain hidden.

"Okay, so now we're in," Silver whispered. "Where are the legendary Pokemon, and how do we get out without being spotted?"

"I knew we'd forgotten something when we came up wid dat plan," Meowth grumbled. Drew opened his mouth to respond, but a crackling in the air prompted him to close it again. The hair on their bodies slowly began to stand on end as the static electricity washed over them, and for the first time Jessie was actually glad that her hair had been hacked off; even she knew that a mass of frizzy red hair would probably look out of place among the silvers and greys of their hiding place.

"We're ready to begin, sir," they heard a Grunt report. "The machine is on and in standby mode."

"Start it up," Giovanni's voice answered. "The sooner Latios is brought back, the sooner the real project can begin." None of them could resist; Jessie, Meowth, Silver, Drew, and Max all poked their heads over the top of the structure, wanting to see exactly what was happening.

The machine Giovanni had been looking at when they entered had activated. Several antennae dotted around the structure were revolving at high speed, generating the incredible power that was needed and causing the room to be awash with static. Between the antennae blue streaks of electricity conjoined, bathing the whole area in a ghostly glow, a glow so blue that it seemed almost white. A massive, thick beam of that light shot out from the machine; upon encountering the Silph Scope in its path it narrowed, focusing its power and imbibing the strange power that the device held.

The light struck the fragment of Soul Dew; it began glowing in response, casting an almost deathly pallor across the faces of those who watched. The Soul Dew then turned red and an acrid smell began to fill the room; Jessie and Max had to suppress a gag, but of those present in the room only Silver, Giovanni, and Sebastian recognized the stench of a decomposed and rotting carcass.

A high, keening scream echoed throughout the area, the distress call of a creature in considerable pain. It came from the Soul Dew, a quavering cry that filled everyone's hearts with a desolate sadness and pierced their souls. Tears filled their eyes, and they clutched at their chests as they seemed to feel that palpable pain as their own. Only Giovanni seemed unmoved by it all.

The Soul Dew's glow intensified and grew. Now they were forced to avert their eyes, shielding their retinas from the blinding glare being given off. And so they did not see as the shape of the Soul Dew within the light began to contort and expand, the jagged edge of the cut and the soft smooth curve of the sphere morphing into definitive features. Arms and legs sprouted from the underneath of the object as two stiff wings grew out of the sides; a head and neck appeared and suddenly the keening came not from the inanimate glass-like object, but from vocal cords.

And then the glow vanished. The light that illuminated everyone's faces so brightly was gone and the keening died, leaving only tears frozen to the cheeks of all who had witnessed it. In the machine the Silph Scope lay smoking, twisted and burned beyond recognition, destroyed by the intense light that had been generated. Further down, the fragment of Soul Dew had vanished. In its place was the shuddering form of Latios, his eyes closed in obvious pain but lacking the strength to give even a whimper.

"It's badly hurt," Sebastian observed. "I don't think the Silph Scope lasted as long as was needed; Latios looks as if it may die again at any moment."

"Then I'll preserve it," Giovanni said, withdrawing a Dark Ball from his pocket. "I only need it kept alive for a short time, and the Dark Ball will keep it in a static state until then."

"You brought this legendary Pokemon back to life just to let it die again?" Sebastian asked softly, incredulously.

"I brought it back so that I can use its power," Giovanni answered sharply. "When I've done that, I'll have no further use for it."

"Dis isn't good," Meowth muttered from behind the structure as everyone slowly withdrew their heads. "Now dey've got Latios, and in a Dark Ball too!"

"Its soul is gone," Jessie said, a haunted look on her face. "Nothing can save it now..."

"What about the other legendaries?" Silver asked. "We can still save them!"

"It's no use," Drew said, shaking his head in anger. "If they have one Pokemon in a Dark Ball, the others probably are too."

"You mean Deoxys is gone?" Max whispered.

"But we don't know that!" Silver said impatiently. "Latios was badly injured, Giovanni had no other choice! But we still have a chance to save Moltres and Deoxys! We can't give up."

"You saw how much security dere was on da way down," Meowth snapped. "We don't got no chance of getting by dem, freeing da legendaries, an' den getting outta here alive! I don't tink we can even get outta dis room, unless you have some way to make da two of us invisible so we can sneak past da Boss an all dem Grunts!"

"Keep it down," Jessie hissed, looking nervously over her shoulder. The colour in her face died. Standing only a few feet away, Butch looked at her in wonder.

"Jessie," he said softly to himself. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but Drew glanced over and, seeing him standing there, launched himself at the member of Team Rocket. It was a perfect tackle, knocking Butch onto his back; he let out a grunt of pain and Drew quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"If you say a word, we're all dead," he hissed. "Do you really want our deaths on your conscience?" It was the right thing to say; Butch's eyes filled with tears and he slowly shook his head no. Cautiously, Drew removed his hand and Butch looked away, refusing to meet anybody's eyes.

"I never wanted this," he said hoarsely. "I never wanted things to end this way. I'm a thief; I can't help that. But I'm not a murderer, I'm not!" He shuddered, trying to suppress the tears in his eyes. "Ever since Giovanni called Cassidy and me into his office and told us he wanted us to kill you and James... I've known since then that my life is over. I don't want to die, but if you're alive I'll be the one killed. But if I kill you, I won't be able to live with myself." He let out a short, humourless bark of laughter. "Either way I die; but what can I do? There had to be more than this, there had to..."

As he trailed into a miserable silence, Jessie looked at him with an expression akin to pity. She put her hand softly on his shoulder, and surprised at the touch, he inadvertently looked at her, locking eyes; hers were filled with a compassion he didn't know she had.

"Help us get out of here," she said gently. "Help us escape and come with us; life with Team Rocket is no life at all. Save our lives and live your own, free from all this death and despair." He looked at her a moment longer, reading the sincerity in her eyes. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"I'll help you," he whispered.


	40. Final Challenge Part One

**Here we are; the penultimate chapter. It's been a lot of fun writing this, but now it's time to say goodbye. This will be my last author's note for _Final Challenge_, since the final chapter is coming up immediately after I put up this one. But there are some things I would like to say about this story first.**

**Over 44 500 views on this story, and close to 300 reviews submitted. Wow. It's just incredible. I never expected this story to get such a reception. It's unbelievable. You've been reading since I started a year ago and kept on coming back despite the very long breaks in between updates this year. When I first started writing this, I figured I'd aim for something around half the length of _May's Crush_, so about 17 chapters. It's now at 41 chapters, not including the April Fools day chapter. So you can imagine my surprise at stretching it out to this length. And yet in some ways I still feel as if I've rushed through parts of this story, and not paid attention to details that I should have. Ah well. I guess it's too late to remedy that now.**

**There is one thing I would like to make clear. From the moment I began writing _Final Challenge_, it was a story about the end of Ash's journey as a roaming Pokemon trainer, as opposed to a shipping story. The shipping is certainly an element, yes, but it always took a backseat towards the actual plot. It's a shipping story without the shipping, if you will. And to be completely honest, I think this was the right thing to do. **

**I was inspired to write this story by reading _May's Crush_ and _PKM Rangers: Rise of the Dark Gems_. I recognized that both of their authors had put a tremendous amount of work and thought into it all. I've always loved writing, and I've been told numerous times that I have a natural talent for it. So I decided to use these two stories as the benchmark of my own. If I met these benchmarks, great. If I exceeded them, fantastic. If I didn't, I would just rewrite the chapter. It seems to have paid off. I've had at least one person tell me anonymously that they think focusing on a plot the way I did, as opposed to allow the shipping to drive the plot, made _Final Challenge_ a more enthralling and entertaining read than _May's Crush_. Are they right? You'll have to be the judge on that. Did I meet or exceed my benchmarks? Again, you'll have to be the judge. All I will say is that one of my aims with this was to write a story containing AdvanceShipping that would excel _May's Crush_; so I was very touched and pleased to hear that even one person thought so.**

**Now I just want to give a shout-out to the people who have been reading and reviewing for so long now; a major thanks to LuciferIX, the Dark Fiddler, Blackjack Palazzo, Amphlosion, EmeraldDragonite, Mayziken, Pors, XAOTL, Jb, DavetheFishGuy, Sp1derp1g, Praetor, betagold, BlazikenEX, Moka, DragonWarrior3000, Psychopath, and anyone who I've missed out (I'm sure there's quite a few, so many have reviewed this story!)**

**Anyways, I guess that's enough of an author's note for this story. I hope that you've enjoyed reading this, and that you'll enjoy these last two chapters. There are some unexpected twists ahead! If you plan on reviewing these last chapters, all I ask is that you review each of them individually as opposed to a cumulative review at the end. The final chapter came to 25 pages in Microsoft Word (over twice the length of any other chapter), and I'd appreciate it if you reviewed while the details are still fresh in your mind instead of a general summary. But hey, if you'd like to leave a summary review on your impressions of the story as a whole as part of your last review, feel free to do so.**

**Thank you all for reading,**

**Matthew  
(Matkin22)**

* * *

Dawn moaned as her foot squelched deep into the mud, the cold ooze closing around her foot. "This idea sucks!" she exploded, struggling to pull her foot free from the mire. "Why do we have to go through a swamp?"

"The distributary is on the other side," Noland said, helping her to free her foot. "The reason not many people know about it is because of the swamp; almost nobody comes to this area, even though it's the best place for water- and bug-Pokemon in all of Kanto. When we get across Tohjo River the ground will firm up a bit and we'll hit the woodlands."

"So why do we have to walk through this?" she insisted. "It would be so much easier to fly across."

"Flying is too visible," Ash called back as he carefully skirted a pothole. "We could be seen for miles around; going through the swamp is much safer." Dawn grimaced at his answer and sighed in frustration as her foot was sucked into the mud again.

"Oh, this is just too frustrating," she growled, reaching for a Poke Ball at her belt.

"Don't bother," Noland said as he helped her out of the mud again. "Any Pokemon that can carry you would just sink into the mud and get stuck."

"Wonderful," she grumbled.

"Relax," he said, talking her arm and holding it out at arm's length. "Look were I'm pointing your arm; see that sliver of blue?" Dawn stared for a moment, and then a wide grin split across her face.

"Tohjo River!" she exclaimed, dashing towards the river and straight into the pothole Ash had carefully avoided.

"And again," Noland sighed as she let out a yell of horror, moving forwards to pull her out for the third time.

* * *

"When the Moltres escaped, it broke its way through the headquarters to get outside," Butch explained. "Quite a few walls and floors collapsed because of it."

"How does that help us?" Max asked. "That's a really steep climb."

"Exactly, and we're not going out that way," Butch said. "We want to avoid that completely. Everyone who isn't out on a mission is being forced to repair the damage; including Professor Namba." A satisfied smile crossed his face for the briefest of moments.

"I still don't get it," Silver frowned.

"Don't you?" Butch asked. "If everyone is at work repairing the damage..."

"Then there are fewer people in between us and an exit," Max realized.

"Exactly," Butch grinned, "and I know the perfect way out."

"Where?" Meowth asked before sneaking a peek around a barrel, noticing that Professor Sebastian was heading towards the steel doors they had entered the room through.

"Through the lab," Butch answered. "Cassidy and I spent a lot of time working with Namba; a lot more time than was good for our sanity, probably. I know that lab better than I know my own face, and there is a way we can all get out."

"What is it?" Drew asked.

"An air vent; the lab was built against solid bedrock for stability, but there had to be good circulation in there to get rid of any noxious gases from experiments," Butch explained. "Most of them lead to an air purifier a couple of floors up, but one goes straight through the mountainside and ends pretty much at ground level." Silver did not look enthused.

"This air vent... am I even going to fit inside, let alone climb through it?" he asked. Butch frowned.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "It'll be a very tight squeeze for you..."

"Well then, forget about it," Silver said cheerfully. "You guys have fun going through the air vent; I'm going the same way that Moltres did."

"What? No!" Jessie hissed. "You'll be caught and killed!" Silver shrugged.

"I'm a fast guy, and nobody would be foolish enough to stand in my way if they saw me charging straight for them," he said, before turning to Max. "I'll take my Chikorita now, if you don't mind," he said, taking the Poke Ball from Max's belt.

"But... but..." Jessie blustered, unable to find words appropriate of her dismay at his decision.

"This is a distraction," Silver said firmly, his gaze brokering no more arguments. "You all get out of here and get as far away as you can. I don't know what Giovanni is planning to do, but you don't want to be caught up in it. Wait a couple hours for me at the river; if I don't show up by sunset, go north and don't stop until you reach the coastline."

"How are you going to get down?" Butch challenged. "I saw the hole that Moltres made. If you jump from that high up, you'll be killed."

"Don't worry about me," Silver said with a wink. "I'm a survivor." Without waiting for a response, he stood up to his full height and calmly strolled around the side of the barrels and pipes. Jessie, Meowth, Max, and Drew watched with bated breath as he strolled across the room towards what appeared to be a square-shaped hole in the wall that was riddled with scorch-marks, an air of supreme calm and confidence radiating from his body. He was three-quarters of the way across the floor before a Grunt turned from his work and saw him walking with an expression of polite interest on his face.

"Hey... hey you!" he shouted, catching Giovanni's and Sebastian's attention as he did so. "What are you doing down here?" Silver sprang into action at the exact moment that Giovanni looked around curiously. He thundered towards the opening his eyes fixed on the height as he calculated what kind of jump he would need to make.

"Stop him!" Giovanni roared, and for a moment several Grunts appeared to be considering it. But one look at Silver's resolute face and incredibly muscular frame bounding towards them quickly changed their minds. All but one scattered, diving out of the way to avoid being hit by the charging man, clearing Silver's way completely save for a lone man, the Grunt who had first noticed him approaching.

Whether it was bravery or stupidity, Silver didn't know and he didn't particularly care either. The Grunt held out a single trembling hand, evidently hoping that Silver would stop.

He didn't.

He ploughed over the man without slowing down in the least. The Grunt bounced off of Silver's dense, muscular body, crashing into the wall and already unconscious.

"After him!" Giovanni shouted, running forward himself as Silver leaped easily through the open space, catching hold of the steel window-frame and swinging himself upwards with ease onto the next floor. In a matter of moments the room became deserted as Giovanni disappeared after Silver and the Grunts hastened to follow their leader.

"Wow," Max said, blinking once.

"Wow," Drew agreed.

"And he did it with style," Jessie said.

"So, now dat he's gone running off shouldn't we get to dat air vent?" Meowth asked.

"Air vent... uhh, right!" Butch said, snapping back to reality. "Follow me and stick close!"

* * *

Silver moved at a ferocious rate, alternately running along twisted metal and singed wood and climbing upwards on bent bars. The pursuers behind him were far more agile on the treacherous route than he, but his astonishing physical strength and stamina were enough to keep him ahead. Surprised Grunts ahead tried to get out of his way as he charged towards them; those that were not quick enough impacted off of his shoulders and lay dazed on the ground, tripping up the Grunts that followed.

Boards of plywood were stretched out every few levels, providing secure footholds for the Grunts repairing the walls and floors; they were no obstacle whatsoever, smashed easily aside as he hurtled upwards. The metal and wood creaked and groaned beneath his feet, but he dared not slow down; to do that, he knew, would risk the damaged floors collapsing beneath his weight. But no matter how fast he ran and climbed, the Grunts chasing after him came slowly nearer. And then he could run no further.

The open air stretched before him, a slight breeze ruffling through his thick grey hair causing it to blow about his face. He gazed briefly downwards and knew immediately that he had gone as far as he could; if he jumped, he would not survive the fall. At the edge of the forest, he saw what might have been Max vanishing into the undergrowth, and he felt a moment of gladness that his companions had successfully escaped. He heard a brief sarcastic clapping behind him, and Silver slowly turned to see Giovanni at the front of at least twenty Grunts, all of whom held a Poke Ball in their hands.

"Well done, Silver," Giovanni called, "you are a remarkably resilient man. You survived Hunter J, even though she reported you dead, and you managed to sneak into our facilities and break into the most secure room we have, all without being noticed by a single guard or Grunt."

"What can I say?" Silver asked, trying to regain his breath from the fast-paced climb. "I have a knack for doing what others would call impossible."

"Indeed. But I'm afraid this is the end for you," Giovanni said. "You have nowhere to go but down. Tell me; how does it feel, knowing you are about to do?" Silver grinned and took a step back, cocky at the end.

"I don't know," he shouted, "you tell me!" There was a dazzling flash of violet light, a roaring noise, and when Giovanni and the Grunts finally cleared the bursting stars from their eyes, Silver had gone. Giovanni stood there, unmoving, rage and disbelief clouding his features. He strode forwards towards the hole in the exterior wall and looked downwards, not expecting to see Silver's body on the ground and not surprised when that was the case.

He turned back to face the Grunts, his face reddening and a vein pulsing heavily on his forehead. Sensing the danger the Grunts scattered, none of them wishing to be last in Giovanni's sight. The enraged leader of Team Rocket threw his head back and roared his anger at being foiled again into the sky.

"_SILVER!_"

* * *

With a bang and a flash of violet light, Silver appeared in the midst of the forest. He swayed dizzily for a moment before his knees buckled. Four pairs of hands and one set of paws reached out to steady him, catching him just before he hit the ground. But even the combined of efforts of Jessie, Meowth, Max, Drew, and Butch were barely enough to sustain his huge frame.

"I thought I told you to not to worry about me?" Silver challenged, waving them off as his balance returned.

"Well, when we saw you trapped at the hole, we decided that we had to save you somehow," Max answered.

"You're the reason why Meowth and I are still alive," Jessie said.

"And why we got out of there without being seen," Butch added.

"You're the reason we made it so far this afternoon," Drew said. "You kept us motivated and focused, and you were going to let yourself be killed to save us; we couldn't let that happen."

"Yeah, well, thanks," Silver grunted, genuinely touched although he didn't let it show.

"Don't tank us," Meowth said, "Tank da twoip's Gardevoir; she's da one who teleported you outta dere."

"Really," Silver said after a pause, turning to look at the Psychic-type. "Well then, thank you for saving my life, Gardevoir."

"Gahr," she answered, shaking her head to indicate it was nothing. "Voir garde."

"Gardevoir says dat it was da least she could do since you saved her trainer's life," Meowth translated.

"Great," Silver said, looking around distractedly; "where are we?"

"In the woods outside Team Rocket's headquarters," Max answered. "We'd better get moving; I have no doubt that Giovanni is sending out people to look for you as we speak. The stream's in that direction," he said, pointing in the opposite direction of the sun. Silver nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't move.

"What is it?" Jessie asked.

"I hate leaving those legendary Pokemon," Silver answered. "It doesn't seem... right. They're meant to live free, not be captured and hang around until it's decided they're expendable."

"I don't like it any better than you do," Max said softly. "But there's nothing any of us can do. How long will it be until Giovanni thinks to interview the two guards we passed and finds out that there were four others with you? You've escaped death twice now; I don't think you'll be as lucky the third time." Silver nodded slightly, recognizing the sense of his words but a far-off look in his eyes.

"Yeah," he said, before snapping back to attention. "Alright then, we head back to the stream. We'll rest there for a few minutes and then head north for Sinnoh. I've been in these parts before; I know the way to the coast."

"I'm going south," Max announced suddenly; everybody looked at him. "Sorry," he said, "but I don't have a death penalty on my head. Team Rocket doesn't know what I look like, and I'm not going to cut off contact with my family and just vanish into the wilderness like that. I have a dream to follow."

"I'm going south too," Drew said. "I have places to go and... and people to apologize to." He cast a half-glance over at Max as he said this. "Maybe I'll end up in Sinnoh one day, but not right now. I still have my life to live, and it isn't in mortal danger right now." Silver nodded, clasping both their hands in understanding.

"Then the stream is where we'll part," he said, his voice thick.

"Well, no point in just hanging around," Jessie said, casting a nervous glance back in the direction of Rocket headquarters.

"Yeah, da four of us aren't exactly welcome in dese parts," Meowth said, indicating Silver and Butch. As they began walking almost silently towards the stream Silver took a careful look around, preserving the memory of what he saw.

"I never thought I'd be forced to leave my home... to leave Kanto," he muttered to himself.

* * *

Dawn emerged from Tohjo River, dripping wet and seriously ticked off. She kept casting malevolent glances at Ash's back as he rested from the swim, a gesture hardly missed by Rey and Noland.

"Take it easy," Noland said, trying to calm her down. "He's doing the best he can, and you should be used to this kind of travelling by now."

"Yeah," Rey added, "and at least the swim washed all the mud off your shoes!"

"I think I'd prefer the mud," Dawn muttered rebelliously. "That water might have ruined my skirt and shoes." Overhearing, May sighed and sent out her little Charmander.

"Charmander, can you warm us all up?" she asked.

"Char!" the baby squeaked excitedly; closing its eyes, the little fire-type concentrated on focusing the energy within the flame on its tail. In a matter of seconds the tail began to burn with an unfevered brilliance, sending a welcome wave of warmth throughout the area that quickly dried everybody's sodden clothes.

"Thanks, May," Brock said, "and thanks to you too, Charmander."

"Yeah, thanks," Dawn said.

"Char!" the Pokemon answered eagerly and, smiling, May recalled the fire-starter.

"Thanks, Charmander," she said to the Poke Ball, returning it to her belt. "That may have just saved Ash from a lynching by Dawn."

"Are we ready to go then?" Rey asked. "It's just along that side-stream, right? Where the trees are?"

"Right," Ash nodded. "The trees anchor the earth, so the ground isn't swampy. Do you see those trees over there?" He pointed towards a line of green, perhaps half an hour away. "The stream goes west for a while, but when it reaches those trees it turns south. Once we reach that we can go into the forest and head straight south; that way we aren't going in as much of a zigzag pattern as the stream."

"Are you sure that's the best way to go?" James asked.

"Why do you ask that?" Brock frowned. James pointed towards the mountains a few hours away.

"See that really tall mountain? That's Mount Silver," he said. "And if you look to the left, about five mountains over; see that smaller mountain that's closer to us? That's where Team Rocket headquarters is. There's a stream about a three hours walk away from there; I'm not positive, but I think it may be the same stream as this."

"The last thing we want to do is walk into Paul's clutches," Brock said turning to Ash, who appeared to be in thought, his lips moving soundlessly as he stared at the sky.

"Ash?" May asked curiously, and then more loudly: "Ash!"

"Huh?" he asked, snapping back to attention.

"Are you alright, Ash?" she asked in concern. "You weren't saying anything."

'Sorry... I was just trying to think," he explained. "I trained in this area with Infernape, Gallade, Floatzel, and Sceptile in between Elite 4 matches, and I was trying to remember the geography. I think James is right," he added, causing the blue-haired trainer to twist in surprise.

"You okay, James?" Noland asked.

"Yeah, I'm just not used to hearing that I'm right," he said with a wry smile. "So... where do we go now?"

"If I remember right," Ash said, "The stream goes straight south for a while before heading back east and then south again. We can just go straight south instead of towards the mountains."

"It's still really close to Team Rocket," Rey observed.

"It's far enough away to make me feel safe," he responded. May sighed and began moving towards the stand of trees that sheltered the stream.

"Well, if you think that we'll be safe going that way then it's good enough for me, Ash," she said. He looked at her, trying to meet the eyes hidden by her fringe. He may not have been able to read body language that well, but he knew May well enough to see that she was nervous about travelling so close to Team Rocket headquarters. He felt a sickening tightening in his stomach. If he was wrong...

"It's good enough for me too," Rey said, following May towards the trees. "I mean, the closer we get to danger the farther we are from harm, right? Who'd expect anyone to be so brazen as to walk past a national crime syndicate's headquarters?"

"That's very reassuring, Rey," Dawn said. "For the record, I actually do know one person who'd do that."

"Three guesses on who that is," Ash grumbled, striding past them quickly as he hurried under the shade and cover provided by the trees.

Had it not been the sense of ever-present danger that hung over them like a cloud, the walk would have been both relaxing and pleasurable. The area was wild and almost completely unexplored; a light breezed cooled them from the back, and the stream gurgled peacefully beside them. They moved at a brisk pace, the trees around them breaking up the heat and light from the hot sun above and casting a beautiful array of shadows on the ground before them.

_Yes, it's certainly tranquil_, Ash realized. _If_ _it wasn't for the relative proximity to Team Rocket..._ His musings were interrupted when in front of him May moved over a small crest, stopped, and uttered one word.

"Max?" she asked.

"May?" he gasped in equal surprise, turning away from Silver, Jessie, and Meowth whom he had been bidding farewell to.

"Jessie?" James wondered aloud as he too reached the crest.

"James!"

"Meowth; dose are da names!" the cat-like Pokemon said happily, rushing to be reunited with his blue-haired friend. He was bowled over by what appeared to be a streak of blue lightning, racing towards a stunned Jessie while crying out 'Wobba, wobba wobba!"

"Wobbuffet!" she gasped, falling to her knees in shock as she reached out to embrace the Pokemon she thought had been lost. "Oh Wobbuffet, I thought I'd never see you again!" she gasped, unmasked tears in her eyes.

"Uncle Silver!" Ash and Dawn both shouted simultaneously, recognizing the hulking man. There was a brief moment of stunned silence as their words reverberated through the trees. Then they turned to each other, looks of complete shock on their greying faces. "Uncle?" they asked the other, aghast. Silver sighed.

"This is going to be a long and unpleasant story," he muttered.

"Forget dat story, it's da twoip!" Meowth shouted excitedly, lunging forwards. "Get dat Pikachu!"

"Who are we going to give it to once we've stolen it?" Jessie asked him, sighing as she trapped his tail under her boot. "We're out of Team Rocket, remember?"

"Oh yeah," he said sheepishly before looking towards Ash and Pikachu. "Sorry; force of habit. Even dough you are a twoip."

"A twerp who helped save your Wobbuffet's life," Rey said unsmilingly. Jessie and Meowth both looked surprised.

"Really? But why did you do that?" Jessie asked.

"I'd have done it for any Pokemon," Ash replied, "and so would any of the people here." Dawn continued to stare at him.

"Uncle?" she repeated.

* * *

Silver leaned against a sturdy oak as he gazed down at Ash and Dawn, trying to think of what to say. May, Max, Brock, Rey, Drew, Noland, Butch, Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and even Pikachu had moved away to give them some privacy. Out the corner of his eye he could see Brock and Noland discussing the best ingredients for Ghost-type Pokemon food, while Rey and Pikachu appeared to be listening half-attentively. Drew was trying to say something to a clearly uninterested May while Max watched on, his face turning red in suppressed anger. Jessie, James, and Meowth were all arguing apparently just for the sake of it while Butch sat nearby, head in hands. Silver groaned and stretched his back against the bark, aware that Ash and Dawn were both watching reproachfully.

"It's not a pleasant story," he growled.

"I don't care," Dawn said stubbornly. "We've been travelling together for five years; and then we suddenly find out we're brother and sister? What gives?"

"Why didn't anybody tell us?" Ash asked, sounding upset. "Why didn't our Moms..." A sudden thought struck his head. "They didn't know, did they?" he asked softly. "Our Moms... they didn't know." Silver contemplated him for a moment.

"No, they didn't," he grunted. "Delia never found out about Dawn, and Johanna never knew of you. I was the only one who knew, and your father swore me to secrecy with his dying breath."

"He's dead?" Dawn asked, stunned. "I didn't know..."

"I did," Ash said, glancing over at her. "I remember the day you came over to tell Mom the news, Uncle Silver. I'd never seen her so upset before. It was a rock fall, wasn't it?"

"That was a lie," Silver said. "I couldn't tell her the truth; knowing what really happened to him would have killed her, and you couldn't be left all alone like that. I'm no parental figure, and I was the only other family you had left."

"Except Dawn," Ash pointed out. Silver grimaced.

"I'm not going to get out of this, am I?" he asked.

"No, you're not," Dawn said. "Tell us what happened; the truth. Why did he cheat on both of our mothers? Why didn't you tell them? How did he die?"

"You're asking for answers that I don't have!" he said, exasperated. "Why did he sleep with both of your mothers? The only one who knew the answer to that was him, and he can't tell us anymore. But he didn't cheat," he added. "Your father wasn't a married man. He wasn't content to just settle down with someone, the road was always calling him onwards."

"I know that feeling," Ash muttered.

"I don't know if he would have ever settled down," Silver continued. "He was loved by many women, and he loved them in return. He gave at least two the greatest gift he could; a child. Whether he had any more kids, I really don't know. My brother and I were as close as siblings could be, but we both had secrets we would never tell each other. I don't think he even knew he had a daughter."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, upset.

"When he died Ash was only five," Silver said, "and let me tell you, I'd never seen him so excited and happy as he was when he found out he had a son. Two years after that he went to Sinnoh, and that's when he met Johanna. They got very close, but he left for Hoenn after two years of the Sinnoh League. As far as I know, he didn't go back to Sinnoh in that last year before he died.

"I went to tell Johanna the bad news because I knew how close she had been to him, and she deserved to know he was dead. I was shocked when I saw you then for the first time, Dawn, and then Johanna told me that you were his daughter. So far as I know, he didn't even know about you. I was the only one who knew he had two kids. Johanna didn't know about Delia, and vice versa."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Ash asked

"Now that would be a pretty random conversation, wouldn't it? 'Hi Ash, just stopped in to say hi and now I'm going off to see your sister who you don't know about; so long!'"

"Alright, I get the point," Ash grumbled. "And you couldn't tell us this before because this is the first time you've seen the two of us together, right?"

"Right."

"How did he die?" Dawn asked, and Silver fixed an unblinking gaze on her.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked. "I was there when it happened; it's hard... even now, just thinking about it..."

"We need to know," Ash said. "For fifteen years I've thought he died from a rock fall. Now I find out that was a lie. Dawn never even got the chance to meet him. We both deserve to know what really happened." Silver sighed, squeezing his eyes shut.

"If you really want to know, then I'll tell you," he said finally.

* * *

_15 years ago..._

Silver opened his eyes. The sun was quickly setting; indeed, it was almost entirely dark within the forest they had set up camp. It was difficult to see much detail now, but that didn't deter him. A familiar wolfish grin spread across his face as he noted the positioning of the early stars and turned over towards his brother. They had slept for the majority of the day, eager to stay up for as long as was possible on this night.

They were at the eastern-most end of the Celestial Mountains, whose most famous peak was Mount Moon far to the west. Tonight they would witness an event that occurred only once every fifty years; the simultaneous passing of mated Butterfree, Venomoth, Beautifly, and Dustox. While it was true that each species mated every year, normally it happened at different times of the year. But every fifty years the mating season for all four species overlapped and they would travel together over the ocean, going east to lands that were yet to be discovered.

Seeing the migration of just one species was often described as a wholly beautiful sight. But seeing the four together was simply exceptional, their scales glistening with both moonlight and an early dew as they travelled. It was the rarest of the Pokemon migrations to see, and from their vantage point here in the mountains they would have an unparalleled view as the Pokemon passed overhead; it was even possible that they would be the last people in Kanto to see the beautiful sight.

So it was with a wide and expecting grin on his face that Silver reached over and began to shake his brother into wakefulness.

"Come on, time to wake up; you don't want to miss the migration, do you?" he asked.

"Five minutes..." his brother muttered, burying his head into the heather.

"And what happens if they pass by in four?"

"I'll come back in fifty years," he yawned, refusing to open his eyes. Silver sighed and got to his feet.

"Alright. If that's what you want," he said, appearing to give up and walk away into the trees. He was back only second later, a large pail of water in hand which he then sloshed over his brother. He shot into wakefulness immediately.

"Agh! What was that for?" he shouted.

"It was your idea to come and see the migration, and now you won't even wake up for it?" Silver asked. "Come on, this is something you'll never see again. Enjoy it while you can."

"You didn't have to soak me," his brother grumbled. "Besides, I will see it again. I'm going to be the first one who follows the Butterfree, Venomoth, Beautifly, and Dustox across the ocean."

"Sometimes I forget that you still dream like a child," Silver sighed, looking down on his younger brother.

"Only because you grew up so fast," he shot back.

"I grew up fast because I had to look after you," Silver retorted. "You can't even make a stew; where would you be without me?"

"Probably still holed up in the Viridian City Pokemon Centre," his brother chuckled, looking around the trees. "It's so dark in here now; do you remember where the cliff is?" Silver nodded towards the sky, which was now free of the sun's vestigial rays.

"Just follow the stars," he said.

"I can't do that either."

"Then follow me."

The two brothers walked silently for a while, Silver tracing a path from the night sky and his brother close in his footsteps. The air was crisp, fresh, invigorating. Silver sucked in a deep breath of the cool air and sighed in pleasure; this was what he lived for.

"Did you hear something?" his brother asked suddenly, pausing and cocking his head intently. Silver stopped and listened intently. He could a tiny breeze ruffling a few leaves by their feet, and the almost inaudible squeaks of hunting Golbat. A branch overhead creaked slightly, and a brook burbled somewhere nearby but out of sight.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he replied, beginning to walk towards the cliff again. But perhaps because of his brother's slight unease, he found himself feeling more cautious and restless. His senses, having long ago attuned themselves to the intricacies of nature, went into overdrive as almost unconsciously his eyes began scanning every dark shadow and his ears strained for even the tiniest sound. He moved more slowly, every reflex stretching, taking no chances. In this darkness it would be foolish to take chances.

And then they both saw it; through a break in the trees there was a slight golden light, quavering slightly as they peered at it.

"It's on the cliffside," Silver muttered, recognizing the locations of some of the nearby trees.

"A campfire do you think?" his brother asked. "Maybe some other people are waiting for the migration too."

"Maybe... But I don't like it," Silver muttered. "Something feels... wrong."

Without expressing another word they began to creep slowly towards the light, taking advantage of the shadows to keep themselves hidden. It was a lengthy progress, as they moved with as much silence as they could. Years spent in the wilderness tracking rare Pokemon came in handy here; both could travel for long distances, leaving barely a bruised leaf as a reminder of their passing presence. Reaching the final trees in between the light and them, Silver took a quick glance at his brother and then peeked out between a few low-lying limbs. He gasped at what he saw.

A half-dozen men scuttled around a large golden bird, shouting orders and instructions to one another. The bird itself was tied down securely, a massive gash spread across one wing. He looked away, feeling sick, and made eye contact with his brother. The revulsion on his face told him plainly that he too had seen the gigantic bird lashed to the ground, apparently close to unconsciousness and in great pain.

Taking another look, Silver thought that he had never seen anything sadder; yet somehow it still seemed majestic. For the injured bird, despite being in such a bad condition, shone golden with a multi-coloured aura hovering across it's beautiful feathers. Its face had a certain nobility to it, even through the suffering. It was undoubtedly a Ho-Oh, and from the glimpses of red he saw splashed across the men's black uniforms, Silver guessed that it was Team Rocket who had found and captured it.

He heard a low click to his side, and with a feeling of dread turned towards his brother, seeing as he had feared a Poke Ball enlarged in his hands.

"You can't take them all," he hissed.

"Then you'll have to cover me," his brother responded simply before charging out of the trees and screaming like a madman. Silver stood still a moment in disbelief, swore, and then followed his younger brother out onto the cliffside.

His brother was already in battle, his Kangaskhan swiping at a stunned Rocket with a roar and knocking him out before turning to face a charging Pinsir sent out by a second Rocket. Sending out his Shelgon, Silver began moving in the opposite direction of his brother in an attempt to get to the Ho-Oh's other side. A Grunt who had been moving towards his brother spotted him, compared the relative size and apparent ferocity of the Kangaskhan with the Shelgon, and ran towards Silver instead. Before the Grunt could even make a move for a Poke Ball, Silver had reached him and levelled a punch into the man's gut. The Grunt gasped and doubled over; Silver knocked him out with chop to the back of the man's neck.

"Two down!" he shouted.

"Make it three!" his brother shouted back from beyond his range of vision. Silver grinned as he turned to face a second Rocket Grunt, who had wisely chosen to send out a Pokemon as opposed to taking on Silver himself. Shelgon gazed up at his titanic opponent, a massive Nidoking.

"Swat that puny thing away with your tail!" the Grunt ordered. Silver grinned.

"Shelgon, Protect yourself and counter with Hydro Pump!" A glowing green sphere of light enveloped the dragon-type seconds before the Nidoking's tail impacted. The Nidoking grunted in surprise as its tail bounced off, spinning the poison-type awkwardly. Protect normally stopped an attack, and didn't reflect it back; to the Nidoking, it was obvious that this was an unusually powerful opponent it was facing. Unfortunately, it had little time to contemplate this before Shelgon's Hydro Pump blasted into its stomach, knocking it down immediately. The Grunt gaped, dumbstruck as his Nidoking tried to struggle to its feet.

"How... how did you..."

"This is quite a special Shelgon I have," Silver said, rubbing the top of his Pokemon's thick protective shell fondly. "It knows a lot of moves that it shouldn't; Hydro Pump was a move it inherited from its father, a Gyarados. I tell you, it was damn near impossible to breed a Salamence with a Gyarados, but I managed it." The Nidoking collapsed, unable to stand up and Silver eyed the Grunt distastefully.

"Four!" his brother shouted.

"Five now," Silver replied, before looking at the Grunt again. "Get the hell out of here. If I see you here again tonight, I'll throw you over the cliff myself." The Grunt's eyes opened wide and, without saying a word, he recalled his defeated Pokemon and slunk off into the trees.

"Time to get you away from here," Silver said softly to the unmoving Ho-Oh, approaching slowly. He reached down to the side of his pants and drew a large knife from its sheath; although he normally used it to help cut up firewood or whittle shapes from any fallen branches as they moved, now he would use it to free the Ho-Oh.

The majestic legendary Pokemon opened its eyes a crack as he approached, letting out a baleful moan. Silver stared straight back; there was a deep sadness in there that said the bird already knew its fate, and in his heart Silver knew it too. But if it were to die then it would be free and unrestrained, not tethered to the ground. The cords that lashed the Ho-Oh to the ground were tough and strong, but they yielded easily to Silver's well-honed knife.

His brother came panting from around the far side of the Ho-Oh, his Kangaskhan already recalled. "That's all of them," he said. "Kangaskhan took all four down."

"Good," Silver replied, sawing away with his knife, "they weren't as tough as I expected."

"Tough enough," his brother replied, before looking and seeing that Silver was already three-quarters of the way through the cords. "That's impressive," he said admiringly.

"The cords just stretch across the Ho-Oh," Silver answered, severing another bond. "Once this side is done, the others should just slide off when it gets into the air." Blinding pain enveloped the back of his head; he roared and jumped away, clutching at the agony that spread across his body, falling down, the world swirling in front of him in shades of gray. Dimly, he felt a scrabbling by his hand, a crushing pain from his wrist, and then there was a high-pitched scream.

Struggling to regain his senses he took several great breaths, still clutching his head as fire danced across his skull. A great, golden light rose into the air in front of him and, rotating to face him, opened its jaws and allowed intense purple flames to escape. He barely had time to draw a shocked breath before the fire washed over him; this was, he knew, the most powerful and dangerous fire attack of all and Ho-Oh's most powerful weapon; Sacred Fire.

But something wasn't right. Although he could feel the intense heat around him and the flames licking his body, there was no pain. His body did not catch. Instead, the flames seemed to pursue something else, something behind him. He turned, his head pain forgotten, and cried out at what he saw.

His brother stood in the midst of the violet vortex, looking dumbly down at his chest. Protruding firmly from his pectorals was Silver's knife, a dark stain spreading rapidly from the injury. He reached up towards the knife, pulled firmly, and drew it out of his own body. For a moment he stood there, the slick knife in one hand and blood gushing out of his body to the ground below. He looked up, his eyes meeting Silver's, and collapsed limply into the dirt as the Sacred Fire ended.

Silver ran to his brother's side, his heart pounding in fear and despair as he dropped down beside him. He knew it was too late. His brother's breathing was already fading, and his eyes were sightless. It did not seem as if he could even talk. Silver tore the knife out of his brother's hand, throwing it blindly away with a scream before grasping his brother's hand, tears pouring out of his eyes.

Metres away from the pair lay the charred and smouldering corpse of the second Grunt Silver had defeated, his life consumed by Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire. For Ho-Oh had seen the man sneak up behind the pair, smash Silver on the back of the head with a hefty branch, pull the knife from his stunned grasp, and stab his brother in the chest. Now, seeing his death complete, the Ho-Oh crashed back to the ground, its wings lacking the strength for even one more beat. The two dying beings lay next to one another, their fates intertwined. Silver drew great shuddering breaths in his grief, beholding the great legendary Pokemon and the brother he loved so dearly, both labouring to draw even a breath.

His brother's grip on his hand suddenly slackened, and Silver cried out in loss. Tears streaming from his eyes, he kissed his brother on the forehead and laid his arm to the ground, unwittingly brushing the Ho-Oh's wingtip with his brother's finger as he did so.

A blinding glow lit up the area, a light so pure that it could be seen for miles. Silver was forced to look away, shielding his wet eyes lest they be blinded. A dull hum spread from the very ground, quickly escalating into a roar before culminating in the screech of a legendary Pokemon. The very air seemed to reverberate with the force of it; to Silver, it seemed almost as if the universe was collapsing in on him.

And then it was just gone. He stood there blankly, surprised by the sudden end of both light and noise. That was when he noticed his brother's body was gone. The blankness turned to shock, and then he noticed that Ho-Oh was also gone. He sank to the ground, weeping. He wept for what felt like hours, weeping for his loss and for the loss of the legendary Pokemon. When no further tears would come to his red eyes, he rolled onto his back, staring at the stars. He noticed with little interest that the migration of Butterfree, Venomoth, Beautifly, and Dustox had begun, their scales flashing in the moonlight. It was indeed beautiful, but compared to the death of his brother it all seemed so trivial.

But while the migration held no interest for him, one sight behind it did. Following the migrating Pokemon was a golden light that seemed to shine with the seven colours of the rainbow. It couldn't be. It was impossible. It was.

Ho-Oh trailed the bug Pokemon. It moved slowly, keeping to their pace as it followed them over them mountains, over the sea.

Towards undiscovered lands.


	41. Final Challenge Part Two

"Uncle?" Dawn repeated. As Silver seemed to wither under the sharpness of her astounded and reproachful glare, May and the others decided it would be most tactful to leave them with some semblance of privacy by moving off a short distance. As Brock, Rey, Noland and Pikachu drifted off in one direction, May grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him further along the stream. To her utter annoyance, she saw after only a few steps that they were being followed by Drew.

"May; can I have a moment?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," she growled with a ferocity that surprised even Max. "I gave you every moment that you needed, and you threw it back in my face."

"May..."

"Would it really be so bad to hear what he has to say?" Max interrupted. May shot a surprised look at him.

"Yes, it would! You know what happened, Max. Whatever he has to say, I'm not interested."

"I'm sorry," Drew said quickly before she could draw a breath. May rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Oh, here we go," she said rudely.

"I am," Drew said with as much sincerity as he could. "I fell in love with your body more than I did yourself... I... I became something that I've always loathed when I did that. I lost track of who I was."

"You were never in love with me, Drew," May shot back. "All you ever cared about were my breasts." Drew winced, deeply hurt by the comment.

"I'm trying to apologize for what I did," he tried again, but May wasn't having any of it.

"An apology. Right. So you think that makes up for cheating on me, for ripping my heart in two, for stalking me around Johto and Hoenn, and for trying to kidnap me? For the last two years all I've ever heard from your mouth is 'I'm sorry'. And you think it makes a difference?"

Max had only heard one word in the last tirade. "Kidnap?" he repeated looking at Drew accusingly, his face turning red with suppressed rage. "You never told me that you tried to kidnap her!"

"Why would he, Max?" May asked scathingly, casting her former rival a withering glare. "The only things he has ever cared about are himself, and how he can turn a situation to his advantage."

"I saved your life and you thank me saying how I've freed your mind from an insanity you've had since May rejected you when you went back to her!" Max shouted at the Coordinator. "In everything that you told me you did, you didn't mention that you tried to kidnap her!"

"I..."

"Let me make this very clear for you, Drew," May seethed, twisting so that she stood eye-to-eye with him. "No matter how many times you apologize, no matter how "sorry" you are, no matter how much time passes... I will _never_ forgive you for what you've done to me. Never." Without another word she turned and walked away, Max following after giving Drew a look of deepest disgust. The Coordinator stood there alone, blinking back solitary tears. He'd known it would be futile, known that it would be thrown back into his face like that.

But he had tried. And perhaps because of this, despite her words, somewhere down the line May might forgive him.

* * *

The sun was fading, casting an almost surreal array of shadows on the ground. The fading rays illuminated Silver's craggy face as he faced Ash and Dawn, his tale complete and waiting for them to speak.

"I don't understand," Dawn said at last, watching Silver keenly. "He died and his body just vanished?"

"Yes and no," Silver answered, looking away to gather his thoughts. "After seeing Ho-Oh die and be reborn... I went to Ecruteak City in Johto, its ancestral home, to learn as much about it as I could. Tell me; have either of you heard about the legend of the Brass Tower?" Dawn shook her head, but Ash spoke up.

"I have; it was said to be the home of a Lugia hundreds of years ago, but it was destroyed by a mysterious fire. Three Pokemon were trapped and died in the flames, but Ho-Oh resurrected them and they became the legendary trio of beasts: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Since that day of the fire, all five have roamed the world and are almost never seen."

"Accurate in the basics," Silver nodded. "Without delving into the whole subject of Ho-Oh's mythology – which would take you years to learn, and even then your knowledge would still be incomplete – you should understand that Ho-Oh possesses a talent that no other species of Pokemon does. When a Pokemon dies, Ho-Oh can bring that Pokemon back to life."

"How?" Dawn asked.

"Nobody knows," Silver replied. "Maybe it's best that way; can you imagine how crowded the world would be without death? But it is an ability that Ho-Oh has. Whether it can be used on humans too, who knows? In all of my research, the only known instances I've found where Ho-Oh has brought a Pokemon back to life are Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."

"I don't quite see what this has to do with our Dad," Ash said, frowning.

"Ho-Oh can bring Pokemon back to life because when it dies, it can regenerate itself," Silver said. "Ho-Oh is unique in that it is the only Pokemon – legendary or not – that does not need to breed to ensure the species survival. With the exceptions of Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza who are immortal, every legendary Pokemon has some counterpart in order to keep the species alive; true, the species may be exceedingly rare to find, but that has only added to their mystique. However Ho-Oh is the lone member of its species, and it is not immortal. To survive it has to regenerate itself.

"But there's one thing you should both understand. When Ho-Oh revived Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, it gave up a part of its own life energy in order to do so. That is why the legendary trio of beasts are often said to be ruled by Ho-Oh; it brought them back to life, and they contain a part of Ho-Oh inside them. Ho-Oh can't give its own life to regenerate itself, however."

"Why not?" Dawn asked.

"Because when Ho-Oh's life needs to be renewed it can't use itself," Ash replied, his eyes fixed on Silver. "If Ho-Oh dies then there is no life left in its own body. Reviving Raikou, Entei, and Suicune took some of Ho-Oh's own life. If Ho-Oh has no life left, how can it revive itself?"

"You catch on pretty quick," Silver nodded. "This is mighty complicated stuff; I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well enough, to be honest."

"So then... for Ho-Oh to be revived it needs some other Pokemon's life," Dawn realized.

"That's it in a nutshell," Silver confirmed

"Seems kind of... savage," she said with a shudder. "Ho-Oh steals the life of a Pokemon to keep on living? That's just like murder."

"It's nothing of the kind," Silver corrected her, looking straight into her eyes. "When Ho-Oh is dying, it does not murder another being. It seeks out another who is also dying and then their two fractured lives meld together to form one whole; Ho-Oh is reborn from that, with the spirit of the deceased beast carried inside it." Ash started as he realized what Silver was getting at.

"You said that when our father died..." he began, his voice trembling. "At the... the moment of his death... his arm touched Ho-Oh's wing. And then... then after that happened there was this massive burst of noise and light, and his body disappeared. Does... does that mean..." His voice broke, unable to control the emotion any longer.

"It does," Silver nodded, struggling to control his own emotions now. Memories of his brother's death crashed into his consciousness, rising up to the front of his memories and threatening to unleash a flood of tears. Even now, after 15 years, he still remembered it and felt the grief as sorely as if it were the day after.

"It does," he repeated, winning the fight to control the overwhelming sadness for a little longer at least. "It means that Ho-Oh is your father."

"Ho-Oh is?" Dawn asked wonderingly. Ash stared, seemingly into space, his mind drifting.

"All those times I saw Ho-Oh," he whispered. "The end of my first day as a Pokemon Trainer, and then later when it pointed me towards Hoenn, Sinnoh, and eventually the Elite Four challenge... I always thought it was a sign of where I should go next. I- I never thought..."

"He's been watching out for you, Ash," Silver said quietly, his eyes sparkling. "He hasn't forgotten about his son. He still cares... about you."

"A touching story I'm sure," a familiar voice sneered, and Ash felt the hairs of his neck stand on end as he turned slowly. Paul stepped from the shadows in front, a satisfied smile on his face. "You moved just as I expected you to," he continued. "You're too predictable. It's almost pathetic. Seize them!" Ash made a move for his belt, but before his hand even came close to the nearest Poke Ball he was tackled roughly to the ground.

Dawn screamed when the two Rocket Grunts burst from the bushes behind them, knocking Ash to the ground. Silver roared and made towards them, but Paul was quicker. In three strides he had reached Dawn, spun her around, and held a serrated knife to her throat, cutting her scream short.

"Do it. I dare you," he hissed, his eyes glittering dangerously. "One move and her life comes to an end. Do you really want that on your conscience?" Silver stopped, his face torn in agony as he beheld the sight of Ash struggling helplessly on the ground and Dawn's wide fearful eyes looking imploringly at him. He knew there was no way out of this. Not without risking Dawn's life, which was a gamble he would not take. His own perhaps, but not hers. Sighing, he lowered his gaze, nodding in defeat.

"You're outnumbered, Paul," a voice called, and he twisted his head slightly to see Brock, Rey, May, Max, Drew, Jessie, James, Meowth, Butch, Pikachu, and Wobbuffet standing several feet away. "You and two Grunts against all of us?" Brock continued. "You don't have a chance, even with Dawn." Paul smiled, a dangerous leer that spoke of hidden knowledge.

"Two Grunts and myself?" he repeated. There was a rustling sound and thirty Grunts charged out from the surrounding forest. Before Brock could blink, they were completely surrounded. "I think not," he said softly, thrusting Dawn contemptuously away towards the closest Grunt. He nodded towards the trainers, his voice hard: "Take their Poke Balls and bind them up," he ordered.

They were helpless, unable to do anything to stop them. Two Grunts went to each trainer, ripping their Pokemon away and throwing the Poke Balls into a container. A surprised Pikachu was flattened by a woman wearing a rubber outfit, and stuffed into a rubber bag by another. They took no chances with Silver, six Grunts cautiously clamping his hands together as they removed a solitary Poke Ball from his waist.

"Just the one Poke Ball?" Paul asked, scanning it to reveal Chikorita inside. "What happened to your Salamence?"

"I told your Grunts when we broke in," Silver said harshly. "My Salamence was killed by the fall." He raised his steel chains, jangling them roughly. "I'm the only one worthy of the steel, I suppose. I'm flattered."

"You won't be breaking out of those chains," Paul said with obvious relish. "Those were designed to hold a Latias. And speaking of Latias..." He turned to Ash, still held tightly on the ground as the Grunts picked Poke Ball after Poke Ball from his belt.

"Here it is, sir," one of the two said suddenly, having scanned a Poke Ball. "Latias is inside this one." Paul took the Poke Ball from the Grunt, affixing it to his own belt. He nodded to the two holding Ash down and he was hauled upright, spitting dirt out of his mouth angrily.

"It's over, Ash," he said softly. "Latias was the last Pokemon we needed, and now I have her."

"It's not over," Ash said defiantly. "You don't have-"

"Sir, the GS Ball!" another Grunt exclaimed, pulling it out of Ash's bag and holding it in the air triumphantly. Paul took it reverently, holding it up closely to examine it in what little light was left.

"The GS Ball... for centuries you've lain forgotten by even the descendants of those that made you. Isolated... alone... your secrets lost... Then you were found and people tried to unleash the power contained inside, never realizing what it is that you hide. No wonder they were not successful; you were forged in Ho-Oh's flame, and the power of Ho-Oh protects what you hold. Only one who has read the tome of the last King of Pokelantis would know how to break that powerful protection..." His musings were cut short when he noticed a glint of yellow protruding from a split wrapping in Ash's bag. He ripped the wrapping away and actually took a step back in shock as he beheld the object.

"The Zap Plate," he whispered. "So that's where it went to... and that means we only have one left to get..." James trembled as Paul turned towards him, his eyes flashing. "Get it," he ordered, pointing to the Rocket closest to the former member.

"With pleasure," a familiar voice snarled. Cassidy ripped the bag from James's shoulder and pulled the Insect Plate out in one fluid motion. She handed it out to Paul, locking eyes with Butch as she did so. "I'm surprised, Butch," she said, shaking her head. "I never would have thought you'd desert Team Rocket for these three losers."

"Losers?" Jessie snarled. "You and me, one-on-one in swimsuits; that'll show you who the loser really is!" Surprisingly, Cassidy didn't rise to the bait, her gaze boring into Butch. He looked back at her unflinchingly.

"You've changed, Cassidy," he said softly. "I don't know you anymore. What happened to the woman who said 'I don't think I can become a murderer; I've always hated that arrogant Jessie, but not to the point where I could kill her'?"

"No life is worth more than my own," Cassidy replied. "And in case you forgot, we take their places if we don't kill them. Don't you feel the same?"

"I don't want to die," Butch answered, "but I'd rather end my own life than take someone else's."

"Enough of this," Paul said impatiently, dropping the GS Ball into his jacket pocket. "We're bringing them with us."

"To headquarters?" a Grunt asked in surprise.

"To the marked clearing," Paul replied. As they were marched off struggling – Silver strangely quiet – he turned to Ash. "All we needed for our project were Latias, the GS Ball, and two Plates. And you delivered more than we could have hoped." His eyes glinted. "You've lost, Ash," he said. "Now nothing can stop us, and Cyas will be ours."

"Cyas?" Ash asked. Paul's expression did not change, although he was inwardly furious with himself for that slip of the tongue. But then he reconsidered; nobody outside of Team Rocket knew of their goals, and by the time anyone found out it would be too late. So it was with a particular pleasure that he answered.

"Cyas; the Ultimate Pokemon," he revealed. For a moment Ash's expression was blank, and he stared after his friends and companions with defeat in his eyes. That was when he realized that they still had a slim hope.

"You're wrong, Paul," he breathed. "It isn't over yet; not until I say it is." Paul's eyes hardened. He levelled a punch into Ash's midsection, doubling the trainer over with a gasp. Groaning in pain, Ash was dragged backwards into the rapidly darkening forest by the two Grunts who held him, Paul following a short distance behind, his eyes clouded.

As they vanished into the shadows, Noland jumped down from a tree and re-crossed the stream, a frown of worry stretching his face taut as he stared after them. His hand slowly drifted down towards his belt; there would be only one way to get them out of this.

Ash raised his head, gritting his teeth in pain. His stomach hurt like hell, and his arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. But he was the only person facing back the way they had come, and so he was the only one able to see it. A satisfied grin spread across his face at the sight of a bright green light shooting into the sky from beyond the treetops, its brilliance amplified by the darkening sky. He had been right.

Help was on the way.

But that was not the only thing he saw. In the far distance a golden glow appeared. It was faint but beautiful, and Ash felt his heart race at the sight of it as it drew slowly nearer. Paul followed his gaze and stopped dead, awe momentarily crossing his face. With a piercing shriek that chilled the blood of every Rocket there, Ho-Oh flew overhead. The legendary Pokemon flew so low that it seemed as if one could almost reach up and touch its feathers. The GS Ball in his pocket seemed to glow hot in a sudden response to the cry, and he felt a shiver as he stared at the night sky.

It was not alone.

Following the Golden One at a much greater altitude was a gleam of silver, night's stark contrast to Ho-Oh's day. The legendary Lugia trailed its great adversary, its equal, its opposite, its ally; still in search of its stolen child. The feeling in its heart grew stronger and stronger as it moved into the mountains, passing the stunned humans below. Its child was near; very near. And it would do everything in its formidable power to free it.

Paul watched silently as the two passed by overhead. Awe was on his face, but hatred and fear bubbled in his heart. There was a certain nobility and pride in the two beasts, qualities that he knew he, his father, and his brother would never possess. They were here because of the connection they felt to the other captured and distressed legendary Pokemon, not through his own sheer fortuitous luck; in the case of the Lugia, it was here because it could sense its child, the young Lugia named Silver, was here. Hatred welled even deeper as he caught sight of his greatest rival watching the two legendary Pokemon with an expression akin to the look on his own face.

He despised him for it.

What made Ash, a weak trainer who won through luck instead of strategy, worthy of seeing the legendary Ho-Oh so many times? Why had Ash, a trainer who had lost to him in every battle save the one that mattered most, been fortuitous enough to see every legendary Pokemon when he, a _real_ trainer, had only ever seen them under his father's orders? How did Ash gain Latias's trust so much that she would consent to capture when there were far greater trainers she could choose?

He owed Ash a great deal, not least of which being revenge for the Sinnoh League. Tonight, after the ceremony, he would usurp his father's control. Then Ash would learn what a pitiful being he truly was. His fingers lightly played with the GS Ball in his pocket as he thought and smiled. Just a few more hours and his world would be right again. Just a few more hours...

* * *

Giovanni held the ancient book carefully; he had read it numerous times now, preparing himself for what had to be said and done in order to summon Cyas back into the world. Now at last he felt himself ready; the passage was memorized, the legendary Pokemon had been captured, and the stone Plates were almost all accounted for. Now, there was only one thing left to deal with...

"I want my fee," Hunter J said impatiently, her arms crossed as she gazed down at him from the far side of his desk. "I captured over half of the legendary Pokemon you now possess, stole a fragment of the Soul Dew, and disposed of one your greatest enemies."

"Silver did in fact live, and he even managed to break into our Headquarters," Giovanni pointed out. J waved this off.

"It was your Grunts who were negligent in stopping him. I detected no life forms, and it was the responsibility of your Grunts to check his status after I knocked him and his Salamence to the ground. My priority was ensuring that the Moltres was returned to you properly. In any case, his Salamence died in the fall. The guards did not find a Poke Ball with a Salamence in it, correct?"

"They scanned the entire party and there was no Salamence."

"And I did a scan of the surrounding forest when I was informed by your son; no Salamence showed up on the display." Giovanni was less than impressed.

"Forgive me, but the scan was conducted with the same technology you used when you searched for life after "killing" Silver, was it not?" he asked. She bristled at the insinuation, but Giovanni ploughed on. "You understand that I may be leery of any results from the scan you conducted."

"That scan is the sole reason why you now possess the legendary Pokemon I have captured for you," she answered coldly. "I checked the records; there was an unusual burst of Psychic activity at the exact moment that I probed the dust. Something cloaked their vital signs from my scans."

"And why would you have not noticed this sudden burst at the time if it was so unusual?" Giovanni asked.

"My scanning device is the most powerful there is," J replied. "I can attune it to type, meaning a wide spectrum. Or I can attune it a specific Pokemon if I am searching for something specific; a Meowth will radiate a different amount of energy than a Persian, and at a slightly higher frequency as well. I can also choose to attune it to heart-rate, body temperature, and vital signs. When I scanned, it was set to vital signs; since Psychic activity is a completely different plane, it didn't register."

"How do you attune it to a specific Pokemon?" Giovanni asked abruptly.

"I input the Pokemon's name and the scanner limits itself to that specific spectrum," J said, a little thrown by the sudden tangent in the conversation.

"Can you find a Pokemon by inputting the spectrum?" he asked.

"I could, but there is no need," J answered. "Every Pokemon is pre-programmed; I only have to search for the name or index number to find the Pokemon I want."

"What if you are missing a Pokemon?" Giovanni queried, and a taut smile spread across J's lips.

"Every Pokemon that has been discovered has data recorded into this," she said. "I can assure you that no Pokemon are missing."

"Do me a favour," Giovanni said, turning to his monitor and calling up a file. "Input the spectrum value PSY1001AZ42, and tell me what you find."

"Nothing that powerful exists," J said dismissively. "The PSY indicates something in the Psychic spectrum, and the numeric value of 1001 means that the Pokemon is legendary; and I have every legendary Pokemon's spectrum value memorized. The power of each field only goes up to AZ45, and you're asking me to search for an AZ42? Celebi and Jirachi both have values of AY44, and the more powerful Deoxys and Cresselia are registered at AZ26. Even Mew only has a value of AZ40. No Psychic Pokemon has a value greater than Mew's PSY1001AZ40."

"Humour me," Giovanni said. J looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then entered the value he had given here. Her goggles whirred momentarily as they processed the information and covered her eyes, and then her vision disappeared as the goggles attuned themselves to the spectrum. Her sight returned almost immediately, although the colours were slightly faded now.

"I suppose that now you want me to scan?" she asked.

"Please," Giovanni said with a smile. J rolled her eyes – an action hidden by the lenses – and rotated slowly on the spot. As she faced towards the door and into the mountainside there was no change in her vision; exactly as she had expected. But when she faced the window she let out an involuntary gasp. She instantly regretted the moment of apparent weakness, but Giovanni did not seem to care much about it other than to ask "you see it?"

"What... what is that?" she asked.

"That, Hunter J, is the most powerful human-created Pokemon," he answered.

"Amazing... its spectrum is almost identical to Mew's; it's only a hair off," she murmured.

"That is because it is a clone of Mew," Giovanni answered. "We call it 'Mewtwo'."

"How unoriginal," she said. Giovanni ignored this.

"We cloned it from the cells of a Mew," he said. "Unfortunately, our laboratory exploded after several months; we assumed it had died, along with the scientists who created it. As you can see this turned out not to be the case; but it's fortunate that Mewtwo survived because it will be our final piece of the puzzle."

"I'm not capturing it," J said flatly, as she turned her head to look at him. "If that's what you brought me here for, forget it. My limit is AZ40; anything above that and you're on your own."

"I'll double your entire fee, just for this one Pokemon," he offered.

"The answer is no, Giovanni."

"I'll triple it." J hesitated.

"I want my full payment plus half for this one Pokemon now," she said.

"Deal," Giovanni answered. She turned and looked out the window once more.

"You do realize that this creature is moving in our direction/" she asked. Giovanni nodded.

"I expected it," he answered. "Legendary Pokemon can sense when other legendaries are in distress. Mewtwo, while cold by its nature, will be unable to resist the pull exacted on it from this distress. I can tell you exactly where Mewtwo is going, because we have made it that way. You won't even need to search for this Pokemon, J. In fact, if all goes to plan your service won't even be needed; consider yourself a failsafe."

"And my fee?" J asked instantly.

"You'll get it regardless of whether you are needed," Giovanni answered. There was a bleeping noise on his monitor.

"Expecting a phone call?" J asked.

"Yes, actually," Giovanni answered, turning to the monitor and clicking the flashing phone icon. "Paul; do you have them."

"We do," Paul's voice answered. "I took Latias, the GS Ball, and the Zap Plate from him."

"He had the Zap Plate too?" Giovanni asked incredulously.

"Surprisingly yes, and it's good that he did. Who knows how long we would have had to search before finding it?" Paul said. "One of his companions had the Insect Plate, as Damian and Cassidy reported. That means that we now have everything we need to summon Cyas."

"Excellent," Giovanni murmured. "So all we have left to do is wait for Mewtwo and Ho-Oh."

"Ho-Oh passed overhead only a few minutes ago," Paul answered. "It was moving in the direction of the clearing we created specifically for the summoning. It wasn't alone either."

"What do you mean?" Giovanni asked sharply.

"There was a Lugia flying with it," Paul said. "It was quite a bit higher, but there was no mistaking it; no other Pokemon captures the light of the moon like it does."

"Why would a Lugia travel with a Ho-Oh?" his father wondered. "The two are polar opposites; even though the Lugia is undoubtedly attracted to the captured legendary Pokemon just as much as Ho-Oh, it should have travelled a different path. Or so Sebastian said."

"I think this Lugia may be our little Silver's parent," Paul replied. "That's the only reason I can think of. Its enmity, or its child? No Lugia would choose the former."

"That's true enough," Giovanni muttered.

"There's more," Paul said. "You won't believe who we captured along with Ketchum."

"Oak? Archie? Maxie? Reggie? Please tell," Giovanni said, sounding bored now.

"Jessie, James, Meowth, Butch, and Silver," Paul answered with relish. Giovanni was instantly alert.

"What? All five?"

"Yes; it was quite the surprise. Now all five can be there to witness the creation of their destruction," Paul said. Giovanni nodded.

"Good; meet us at the clearing. We're going directly there," he said. "I'll give the order to move the legendary Pokemon."

"They're all infected?" Paul enquired.

"Half," Giovanni replied, "the rest are either frozen in stone or caged."

"With Sebastian's variation that doesn't infect humans?" Paul went on.

"Again, yes," Giovanni answered, reaching towards the disconnect button. "I'll meet you at the clearing." The screen went blank and he turned back to Hunter J. "Ready?" he asked.

"Lead me to the clearing," J answered. "I want to know the surrounding terrain so that I can pick the best vantage point for Mewtwo."

Giovanni nodded and stood. He eyed the ancient and near-decrepit book in his hand a moment, but decided that he did not need to bring it with him; the passage was memorized and he knew how the ceremony was conducted. Although he had read the book dozens of times there was one last page he had barely glanced at. But then, it was in an almost illegible handwriting that differed from the rest of the book, and the page was both badly torn and of a different quality of parchment; no doubt some sod's poor idea of a joke. He dropped the book onto his desk and left the room after Hunter J without giving the text a second glance. He had no need for it now.

And so it was that he never saw the vital information which would have prevented what was to come. Information that could have made him realize what a folly it was to summon Cyas. For what was to come would have astronomical consequences that would not be fully realized for yet another decade. Tonight would be the final challenge for all who would be present – survival.

* * *

_My name is Sullivan; I was once a knight of the kingdom of Pokelantis. That kingdom is no more. As I write this note, the last vestiges of our small empire are under attack. At any moment the gates will give and we will be overrun. I am desperate to record this last piece of our history so that perhaps one day in the future, what has truly happened would be known and we will earn our places in history._

_The king is gone. I was there with a party of knights and casters on the far side of the meadow where it happened; we all saw it. He was pursued by Ho-Oh and tripped. And in that instant he vanished in a violet glow. Ho-Oh flew off and we approached cautiously. The king was gone; in his place was a smooth spherical stone. This device is unlike almost any other in existence. It has the ability to capture objects and hold them inside. We can only surmise that when he fell the King tried to capture Ho-Oh, but found himself imprisoned instead. _

_We returned the stone to the castle and placed it securely on a pedestal in the lower levels. And it was only a week later when our brethren and closest ally, the kingdom of Pokemopolis, attacked. Why, I do not know. But our defences are crumbling, and I fear death is our only option. Before the King vanished he managed to capture the entity known as Cyas – the creator of our God's, Durga and Purga – within a magnificent metal sphere that shone in silver and gold. I do not know how this happened; Cyas consumed the King and when that occurred we ran. He cheated death once that night; perhaps it was inevitable that he would not cheat it a second time._

_The device Cyas was captured in vanished along with the King. Some of the men have lamented this, claiming we could summon Cyas and use its power to vanquish the forces of Pokemopolis with ease. They are fools. I am the nephew of the man who forged the device. I know how it works, and it would not be controlled by any one man._

_Ho-Oh was the King's greatest enemy. But one day in the midst of an attack, a portion of its flame was caught and kept alive. My uncle imbibed the power of this flame into the device. Ho-Oh therefore has some power over it, and it is by Ho-Oh's will that the device remains sealed. I believe that the only ways to reopen it would be to capture Ho-Oh or to recreate exactly the conditions in which Cyas was caught; both of which are almost impossible feats._

_It is perhaps for the best. There is an ancient legend which states that Cyas may be summoned, but it is only in a situation of absolute desperation where the fate of the world hangs in doubt that one should do so. To do otherwise would provoke Cyas's rage, and it would destroy the world as vengeance. The King did not understand that. He disregarded the legend and called Cyas to try and control its powers. Folly. Now Cyas is sealed, and if it should ever be unsealed its rage would return. The world would turn to ruin, and all that we hold dear would vanish. _

_They have broken in; I can hear them now. I must hide this book, the records of the King of Pokelantis, before they discover me and burn the information I hold now. Brothers turned against brothers... I fear that the time of absolute __desperation the legend spoke of has begun, cause by Cyas's untimely summoning and that the world has become unstable because of it. If it has, then only Cyas may repair what damage has been done. But Cyas is locked away, and to unleash it would be to unleash its rage. I am afraid for the future. But I will not be a part of it. The men of Pokemopolis will kill me; of that I have no doubts. My end is nigh, and I welcome it. To avoid what I fear will come... that is indeed a blessing disguised as I curse. I end this now, hoping that one day in a happier future it will be discovered. Read it carefully; all that you see is true. Know what has happened and be prepared for what may yet be to come. _

* * *

Ash wrestled against his captors with all his might, but the Grunts' grips on his bound arms were unyielding. He was at least now facing in the direction they were travelling; the Grunts had shown him that courtesy at least. Directly ahead he could see May, her head bowed and her feet dragging. Rage filled him at the sight of her red skinned wrists, the flesh taken away from rubbing against the tight rope bonds. He desired nothing more than to take that rope and throttle the one who had put them all into such a situation.

But then, who would he be throttling? Paul, or himself?

A sick feeling replaced the rage, and he hung his head. It was, after all, himself who had insisted that they travel in this direction. It had been himself who felt so sure that he could outwit Paul's fiendish mind enough so that they could slip past him. But Paul had read him easily, had anticipated him, had been prepared. It was inevitable that they would meet again; he should have been ready, he had should have been expecting it. If only he had double-guessed himself, instead of being so sure of his initial plan...

If only, if only! He had tried to outsmart Paul and ended up playing right into his plans. He had no one to blame but himself. He should have listened to his friends; they had understood far better than he. But he had gone ahead regardless, and it was because of his stubbornness that they were now trapped. Bitterness overcame the sickness as he realized what his arrogance had gone. Now Paul had the GS Ball, two Plates, and even Latias; poor Latias! What would he use her for? Ash shook his head, trying to fight back tears at the thoughts that overwhelmed him. Paul's favourite word sprang into his mind, and Ash knew at last that he was worthy of that title.

_Pathetic_. He didn't deserve any of his Pokemon after this; not even Pikachu. He didn't deserve his friendships. Brock, Rey, Dawn, May, Max, Silver... even Jessie, James, and Meowth! He had betrayed them all through his pigheadedness, and now they were all in danger for it.

"You're wrong, Ash," Dawn said in a loud clear voice. Startled, he looked up, and his eyes met her firm and steady gaze from several feet in front. To his surprise, he realized that they had stopped at the edge of a large clearing; he had not noticed his feet cease movement.

"It's obvious enough, what you're thinking," Rey said from beside her. "None of this is your fault; you couldn't have predicted this would happen."

"I-" he began, but was swiftly cut off by Brock.

"They're right, Ash," he said. "We would have been trapped either way; I overheard the two who dragged me talking. There was another large group waiting further down on the riverbank. It was inevitable; we were always going to be caught."

"Enough yapping," Cassidy snarled, stalking up to them. "The Boss is coming; get around the circle."

"What circle?" Drew asked.

"That one," Cassidy said, pointing into the clearing. "There are stones dotted around the ground in a circle. Spread yourselves out between them."

"What about us?" one Grunt asked, and Cassidy rolled her eyes as if he was an idiot.

"You're all going to stand with them," she said. "What if they try to break loose? Giovanni wants them present – to see the cause of their demise." She finished the last sentence with a sick leer towards the four former Rockets, all of whom stared back at her boldly and without fear.

"If you want to scare us, you'll have to better than that," Jessie said with a brazen yawn. Cassidy bristled, but kept her temper in check.

"Oh, you'll be scared; no doubt about that," she contented herself with saying, before walking off. "Staring your death in the face tends to do that to people."

* * *

Hidden away in the forest, beneath a thick clump of ferns, a slight movement could be seen. A passing Weedle in a nearby tree looked down at the plants curiously. What was in there, it wondered. A Caterpie? Another Weedle? There was a massive burst of red light and a gigantic... _thing_ appeared, roaring towards the sky as it erupted from the fronds. The Weedle stared at it a moment, shocked beyond belief, before fainting in terror; it had never seen anything as large or fierce as this creature in its life before.

The Salamence sniffed the air, barely noticing as the Weedle dropped from the tree to the ground at its feet; its master and his companions had gone on a dangerous mission, and it had to be left behind. The Salamence did not like that, but it understood why.

But its master had promised to be back by sunset; now it was nearing midnight, and he still had not returned. The Salamence did not like that either. Something was wrong; its master never broke a promise. Now, it was time to track the master down, and rescue him from danger if need be. It took a great whiff of the air and, somehow, managed to isolate the scent of its master. It was faint, but it was there nonetheless.

An almost wolfish grin spread across the Salamence's reptilian face. It was time to go hunting.

* * *

"I don't want to die," Max whispered, the shadow of the young child he still was at heart crossing over his face.

"Neither do I, Max," May said softly, moving as close to him as the Grunts would permit. "There's so much more I wanted to see and experience... all the new Pokemon I haven't seen yet... settling down... starting a family..." She smiled sadly at Ash, and he could barely bring himself to respond.

"I don't fear death," Silver murmured, and everyone's gaze was drawn to his massive figure. "I've lived my life, and I doubt I have more than few years left in me anyways."

"You aren't that old," Dawn objected, and Silver laughed, surprising everyone with the noise.

"I've lived a hell of a lot more dangerously than anybody else I'd care to name," he said. "Underneath these clothes my body is scarred beyond belief. I've spent almost my entire life secretly battling the Rockets; perhaps it's right that I die by their hands."

"Your life isn't over yet," Dawn insisted. "None of ours are."

"I don't see how dat's true," Meowth interjected. "Jessie, James, Butch, Silver and I all have bounties on our heads, tanks to da former Boss. Da way I see it, we got maybe an hour until we're all killed."

"That's not a very positive thing to say!" Dawn snapped. "Maybe you've given up, but I haven't!"

"She's right," Rey interrupted. "Or have none of you noticed that Noland isn't here?"

"Who's Noland?" one of the surrounding Grunts asked.

"Uhh..." Rey began, looking at the others helplessly.

"Alright, get them into the circle," Cassidy ordered as she strode back towards them, unwittingly saving Rey from having to answer. "The Boss and that Hunter are here, and the Pokemon will be soon too. Move!"

Without a word, the Grunts hauled their captives away; feisty as ever, Rey managed to sink her teeth into the hand of a Grunt who had accidentally brought it dangerously close to her breast; he yelped and backhanded her in the head with his other hand, momentarily stunning her. Dawn tried to kick one of her captors between the legs but, expecting a move like that, he caught her by the heel and tugged her onto her back.

With a great deal of difficulty, the many Grunts finally managed to drag various members of the group to different locations in between the stone Plates. Ash struggled as hard as he could, but the Grunts held him tightly and he was unable to move anything but his head. He looked to one side and saw his sister glaring almost fearlessly at the two who held her, although he noticed that she was wincing a little from being manoeuvred so violently to that Plate. Beyond her he saw Brock, Butch, Meowth, Rey, Silver, Jessie, Drew, Max, James, Pikachu – still tied securely in the bag – and May on his other side.

The Grunts stood stiffly to attention as 18 people moved past them and continued into the centre of the circle. Once there they turned swiftly and began moving away again, each person moving in a slightly different direction; _one person for each Plate_, Ash realized. Once there, each person stooped and lifted their Plate into the air; from the colouring, Ash guessed that the Plate the woman nearest him held was the Insect Plate.

Then an almost deathly hush spread across the field. Four people were striding out of the trees, and they passed through the circle of Grunts to stand at the centre of the field. They stood there awhile, discussing something quietly. Then two of them, a tall young man with a sneer across his face and an even taller woman, separated themselves from the other two men and began walking back the way they had come, a path that took them very close to Ash. To his surprise he saw that the people walking towards him were Damian and Hunter J.

"You!" he blurted out after recognizing the lithe Pokemon Hunter. She raised an eyebrow and stopped, turning in his direction.

"Ah," she said, recognizing him; "it's you." A thin smile curled across her lips. "It's too bad really... I'd hoped to deal with you personally after all the trouble you caused me in Sinnoh. And just think of that strength you'd have! On the road to becoming the Champion! Perhaps you'd have been able to give me a decent match... for once."

Ash's eyes flashed and his hand instinctively lunged towards his waist. J laughed. "It's too bad that Giovanni's son has already claimed your fate for his own... but at least I'll be there to watch."

"You're sick," Ash said softly. "You take pleasuring in separating friends, in breaking bonds, in other people's pain. You are the most twisted person I have ever known, and you will die the way you lived; take my word for that." Her eyes hardened; for a moment she looked as though she would slap him. Instead she swept past him without further comment, Damian trailing her; although the Grunts would not permit him to turn his head, he felt her glare burning into the back of his skull.

_You are in grave trouble_, a voice in his head observed. _Do you really need to endanger yourself even more against her?_

_I do what I have to do_, he answered_. It's all I can do; if our fates are sealed already, then what difference does it make?_

The voice was forestalled from answering by the sounds of heaving grunting and gasping from the winding trail behind. The Grunts holding him turned in curiosity, and he was able to see down the path. Hunter J was gone, vanished into the forest. But something incredibly large was coming towards them.

His heart quailed at the sight. The Palkia that approached was enormous. Even in this dim light, he could tell that its eyes were unfocused, but it moved forwards at a steady pace. Behind it came the Palkia's greatest enemy; but the Dialga was not moving of its own free will. The legendary Pokemon was completely immobile, its expression of rage frozen in the stone that surrounded its body. No fewer than forty Grunts struggled to move what might have been a statue towards the clearing; had Ash not been familiar with Hunter J's handiwork, he would have assumed it was nothing but a carving.

And more followed. Some he recognized with a jerk of surprise as being Pokemon he had met personally in his decade of travelling; others he did not, although he was intimately familiar with each of the species. Groudon... Azelf... Zapdos... Heatran... Celebi... His stomach jolted as he found himself staring into the eyes of an Articuno that looked at him pleadingly, and he knew instinctively that it was the one he had defeated in battle against Noland. A great stone Kyogre was carried past, and he saw a relatively small Lugia looking around fearfully as it was carried in a heavily reinforced cage. When it saw him it warbled in recognition, and he realized that it was the baby Silver from the Whirl Islands. Regirock, Regice, and Registeel all passed by next, and he had the eerie feeling that he knew them too.

Then a cry tore from his lips at what he saw; a stone Latios being carried next to a freely moving Latias. He could tell simply by looking into her glazed and unfocused eyes that it was his Latias, the friend Paul had taken from his belt and pocketed. A Grunt pulled her into position behind him, her frozen brother at her side, and he at last recognized the look on her face. There was no doubt. He had seen it there before, and in May's eyes as well. In the brief time in which they had been separated, Latias had been infected by the variation of the Pokerus that had nearly killed May.

He was so stunned by this realization that he did not notice when the last of the legendary Pokemon left the path and formed around the rest of the group. Giovanni and Paul stood alone at the centre of the clearing; encircling them were the 18 Casters who held the Plates, then his companions held by the Grunts, and finally the legendary Pokemon. The two holding him jerked him back around, forcing him to look towards the centre of the clearing.

_If you need help, now would be the time to ask_, the voice said in his mind.

Giovanni nodded to Paul, and the young man left the circle, walking past the legendary Pokemon without fear.

_Will you really risk that recognition?_ Ash asked.

"We have the Plates!" Giovanni shouted, his voice booming around the open area. 'We have the Pokemon! And most important of all, we have the GS Ball!"

_You did not recognize me_, the voice pointed out.

"Contained inside it is Cyas; the Ultimate Pokemon!" Giovanni roared. "Cyas was captured millennia ago, but every Pokemon will obey its master! I am that master now! Cyas will obey me, and I will use its power to seize control of this world!"

"He really likes the sound of his own voice, doesn't he?" Jessie said brashly, her voice carrying over even Giovanni's. His eyes raked across to settle on her; she couldn't help it. She flinched when his gaze landed. Giovanni's response was distracted, however, by twin sparks of light appearing in the sky; one gold and one silver. A smile played across his face as they drew nearer and nearer.

"Gold and silver... the GS Ball," he murmured. "How fitting..." He stooped and placed the GS Ball on the ground, in the dead centre of the clearing. Stepping back, he spread his arms wide and shouted:

"Behold the sky; it is Ho-Oh, the last piece of the puzzle! 400 years ago when this ceremony was last conducted, it was the final arrival; and so it is again!"

_Now!_ Ash cried mentally as violet jets of light shot out from the centre of each stone. They flew over Giovanni's head and collided exactly above the GS Ball; a mysterious purple aura began draining away from each of the legendary Pokemon that encircled the stones.

A blur of white light shot from nowhere in the sky towards the Grunts on the ground below. Several dived out of the way with cries of panic as the shape of Mewtwo became visible to their eyes.

"So... after all these years we meet again," Giovanni said casually to the creature as it came to a halt mere feet away from him. "It's been a long time, Mewtwo." Mewtwo was taken aback that his former master recalled him, but he did not let it show in his voice.

_For too long you have harmed the world around you_, the Pokemon snarled. _For too long you have meddled, stolen, and destroyed what should not have been touched. I will now do what I should have done the last time we encountered one another; your existence is at an end!_ He raised a paw, an obsidian sphere forming in the palm. _This ends here!_ he roared, shooting it directly at the man.

The attack dissipated before it reached Giovanni, and Mewtwo gasped as he felt a sudden weakness seize him. His vision began to fade as the colours he saw were replaced by a violet tinge. He fell to his knees, unable to support his own weight.

_What... is... happening..?_ he moaned.

"Exactly what I expected to happen," Giovanni said softly. "You are indeed a legendary Pokemon; and that means _you _were the last pawn in play, my old friend. Because you appeared here so valiantly this night, the world that you know will be no more. And I will rule over all."

He looked away from the fallen Pokemon, satisfied. The jets of light continued to shine from the plates and connect above his head; now, a large orb had formed from the fused energy, an orb that slowly grew larger and larger as the power of the legendary Pokemon surrounding them drained into it. A dull throb was emitted from the swirling violet mass, a sound that quickly escalated into a roar. In the sky above both Ho-Oh and Lugia circled overhead, momentarily out of reach of the power from the orb. But they were legendary Pokemon; they could not resist the plaintive cries of their distressed brethren any longer.

The Lugia somehow picked out the cries of its distressed child above the roar from the orb. Its heart filled with rage and it let out a chilling screech as it folded its wings and dropped rapidly to the earth. Almost instantly a purple aura began to drain from the beast's body; unable to sustain its flight, the creature let out a cry of surprise before impacting heavily. A massive cloud of dust spread and when it cleared the parent Lugia was seen unmoving on the earth, its energy still draining away.

Ho-Oh hesitated; it could not ascend and leave its brethren, but nor could it go lower and risk that immobility and helplessness. The decision was soon taken away. As the orb grew in energy, so did the range of its attraction. Ho-Oh felt the pull on its wings and tried to wheel away, but to no avail. It was trapped by the strength and energy of its brethren, and no force was strong enough to break away from that.

"At last!" Giovanni shouted triumphantly above the roar of noise as he witnessed the violet light draining away from the Golden One and into the orb. "Ho-Oh's power has been captured! And now I shall use that power to break the seal on the GS Ball and summon Cyas back to the world!" He seemed to almost cackle in delight at the idea. He stood back, spreading his arms grandly and beginning to recite the ancient words. The dialect was unfamiliar to all who heard it, but they somehow understood it nonetheless. The words sent chills down Ash's spine, and he felt an incredible sense of foreboding at the recitation.

_From the land and the sea, mine power flows from thee  
__From the earth to the sky, the wet and the dry  
__I rule land, air, and sea._

_Spirit, will, and thoughts__  
__Life, death, and dreams  
__I come when I am called  
__Awakened with a scream._

_When hearts are blackened by power corrupt  
__And hatred taints the will of the free  
__My energy is used only to disrupt  
__Call me in a desperate plea._

_Take with you the strength of my sons and daughters  
__And my mortal ties to the earth.  
I__ require earth, wind, rock, ice, fire, and water  
__For this world to give me rebirth._

_But heed me now and heed me well;  
__I give and I take away.  
__The arm that created your world and your life  
__Has the hand that shall take it away.  
__Meddle not in the ancient powers  
__My wrath cannot be controlled;  
__If called before the day my presence is required  
__Naught but chaos can unfold._

_If worst comes to worst with the end drawing near  
__My rampage causing naught but harm  
__There is but one way to stay your fears  
__Self-sacrifice stills these arms._

He repeated the verses several times until, with a blinding glare, the stone Plates glowed a brilliant white. Every Caster yelped in surprise, instinctively letting the Plates go in order to cover their eyes. But the Plates did not fall and break; rather, they levitated a slight distance towards the orb and turned so that their inscriptions faced the violet sphere. Giving the slightest of wriggles, the GS Ball slowly began to rise into the air.

Giovanni smiled and stepped back as the most ancient of Poke Balls moved into and was enveloped by the now gigantic orb of violet energy. A small prick of white light appeared in the centre of the orb, growing larger in almost miniscule increments. And it was when the light appeared that all hell broke loose.

With a screech, Silver's Salamence burst from the trees only a short distance away. It blinked momentarily at the violet light and, seeing its trainer, dived towards him joyfully. Hunter J leapt out from behind a rocky outcrop and trained her weapon on the Salamence. But in the darkness her aim was slightly off, and the burst that would have turned the dragon-type t stone whistled harmlessly past its foreleg.

The sight of his beloved Pokemon seemed to fill Silver with a hope and heart he had lacked from the moment of their capture. He roared and jerked his hands apart with as much force as he could; to the greatest surprise of every Grunt guarding him, they snapped with ease, so great was his strength. They stood there a moment, staring at the freed Silver in fear. Then he sprang into action, swinging the chains that dangled from his wrists with a fury that no Grunt could match. Within two seconds, each one of the six Grunts had been knocked unconscious.

Everyone stared stunned at the sight of Silver standing there with the six fallen men around him and his Salamence coming in to land at his side. So taken aback were they that nobody noticed the subtle shifting of earth that occurred directly behind Brock, nor the Dugtrio who had popped out of the ground and moved swiftly to one side. But it was a bit more difficult to oversee the Rhydon that erupted out of the ground behind the Dugtrio, its eyes flashing angrily at the sight of the captives and its horn spinning at a rapid pace.

The Grunts holding Brock let go of his bonds and instantly jumped away to the side, hoping to avoid the behemoth that had appeared so suddenly. Brock himself barely had time to scream before the rock-type was upon him; but instead of attacking him, the Pokemon instead ducked its head and quickly severed the ropes that held his hands together. Brock slumped to the ground in shock as the Rhydon whirled and roared, charging straight towards Dawn. The Grunts holding her did not even wait for it to begin moving before turning and running towards the trees. A jet of water blasted from the undergrowth and knocked one of the men straight back to the waiting Rhydon, who pirouetted and smashed the flying man across the head with its heavy tail. He flew again the opposite direction at a much more rapid pace; but this time there was nothing to halt him save the trees.

The second Grunt hesitated upon seeing what had happened to his comrade, but was saved further thought by a blast of blue electricity that enveloped his body. He collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed from the high voltage. Side-by-side, a Golduck and Manectric leapt out from the forest, rushing towards the circle as the Rhydon freed Dawn from her bonds. But by this time, Giovanni and the rest of the Grunts had recovered from their initial shock. Streaks of red light shot into the sky as the Grunts released wave after wave of Pokemon in defence, abandoning their captives and running as a group towards the Pokemon.

"Pokemon; _get them!_" Giovanni roared, pointing at the three Pokemon who stood alone within the circle of legendaries. Those that were not caged or frozen in stone began moving, but sluggishly; their energy not yet recovered from the massive effort required to form the orb that called Cyas. The Rhydon was able to take a few steps towards Ash, but before it could move too far it was obstructed by a Zapdos.

The burst of weak electricity it unleashed did little more than tickle the immune rock-type, but the threat it posed by actually being able to use an attack was enough. _If the legendary Pokemon are starting to use their attacks again, that means the orb has drained enough power_, Ash realized, thinking furiously. _And if the orb doesn't need their power anymore it must have enough energy built up to sustain itself while it summons Cyas from the GS Ball. But if that's true, then it means there is no way to stop them; Giovanni and Paul have already won._

_It works both ways!_ Mewtwo roared, struggling to its feet. With a massive effort, the psychic-type spread his arms wide, throwing off the remnants of the draining aura entirely. Still feeling weak he aimed blinding, forming and shooting off a jet-black orb. It was a lucky shot. The attack blasted into the Articuno's cage, shattering the bars. With a screech of freedom, the ice-type climbed out of the steel remnants and spread its wings, jumping into the sky. The Articuno wheeled, trying to gain height, and then dropped into a steep dive as a powerful Ice Beam shot from its mouth. The Zapdos screeched in shock and pain as one wing was frozen along with a portion of its back. Awkwardly, the furious electric-type tried to turn cumbersomely and retaliate with a Thunderbolt. Seizing its chance, the Rhydon leapt into the air and dug its toes in deep upon landing. The ground trembled a moment and massive pillars of rock shot skywards, trapping the deranged legendary Pokemon inside.

"Stay still, stay calm," a voice said from behind Ash, and he realized that Noland had snuck up behind him during the brief battle between Articuno, Zapdos, and Rhydon. "I signalled for Anabel; all the Frontier Brains and Cynthia are here. They're attacking from the opposite side right now. Do you have any Pokemon on you?"

"No, they took them all away," Ash said, trying not to wince as he felt Noland's knife begin to scrape against his skin as he cut away at the knots.

"We'll have to make do with what we have then," Noland said grimly. "That Articuno... it's my friend. I didn't know it had been captured. Hopefully the legendary Pokemon that Giovanni isn't controlling will fight by us just like Articuno."

"You bet they will!" Brandon roared as he charged past towards the three caged Regi's. "None of them will stand for being used like that!"

Ash felt the ropes part and he rubbed his wrists quickly to re-establish circulation. "Well right now it's only Articuno against all the legendary Pokemon Giovanni is controlling," Ash said as he ran with Noland towards May. "Unless we can free the other Pokemon in the cages, we have no chance." Noland nodded, and turned his head back towards his three Pokemon who still stood grouped nearby Dawn.

"Rhydon, use Flamethrower and Golduck, use Hydro Pump! Break those cage bars!" he ordered before skidding to avoid a wayward Hyper Beam from the Rayquaza and pulling May down with him.

Ash moved to imitate him, but something hard smashed into his back; with a cry of pain he fell to the ground, tumbling slightly across the grass. His head feeling dizzy, he tried to turn over onto his back and found himself staring into the red and angry eyes of Latias.

"Lati-" he began, but got no further. She reared back her head, a slightly pinkish sphere forming in between her lips. He couldn't speak, he couldn't react, he couldn't do anything but watch. She launched the attack and he felt the force as it exploded on impact with something mere centimetres from his face.

_Move!_ Mewtwo roared, dismantling the protective shield he had cast in between the attack and Ash before swooping in and smashing into Latias head-first. She screeched and retaliated by lashing out with her weak arms. Mewtwo winced as the sharp claws pierced his skin, but spun and smashed his tail into her flank. She responded by firing off a Psychic, and Mewtwo responded in kind. Ash watched, dazed, as the two attacks collided feet from him, growing and growing in intensity until the entire world seemed to be filled with the uncompromising and powerful Psychic energy.

_I said move_, Mewtwo growled, sparing a minute portion of his energy to broadcast the thought at Ash. Latias seized the moment of distraction and pushed her Psychic to the limits, overwhelming Mewtwo's defences. He cried out in pain as his body was overwhelmed by the attack; helpless, he could not move of his own volition and Latias used her control over his body to send the Pokemon flying backwards towards the slowly lumbering Palkia. The controller of space saw him coming and raised an arm. Mewtwo had no means to avoid the attack, and Palkia smashed his body into the ground at an incredible force.

"Mewtwo!" Ash shouted, but there was no response. Latias screeched in victory and returned her attention to Ash. He knew what was coming. An indescribable, seemingly eternal pain blasted through his body and he knew he was going to die, knew that this was all there was, that there was nothing that could end it.

Through his travels, he had learned an incredible amount about Pokemon and their attacks. Like Max, he knew about the three variations on the move Psychic and the power contained in each. From the pain blasting through him, he knew that Latias had attacked him with the most powerful variation there was; the Stage-3 Psychic of a legendary Pokemon. But it was a pain beyond tha of any Stage-3 that had ever been cast before. For Latias's natural power and strength had been increased from her exposure to the Pokerus. And now, infected with the Perporus, they had been increased yet again. No Psychic attack cast had ever been as powerful as the one she used now, an unheard of and unprecedented Stage-4.

He screamed with the pain, a scream that echoed around the clearing and brought a temporary reprieve to the battling between the Pokemon under the control of Giovanni and the ones who fought against them. His scream was filled with a pain that none of them had ever experienced, and knew they never would. It chilled them, unnerved them, struck them where it mattered most; their hearts.

He screamed for the pain  
He screamed for May and Pikachu  
He screamed for his father  
He screamed for his mother and for Dawn  
He screamed for his friends  
He screamed for the freedom of the Pokemon  
He screamed for Mewtwo  
He screamed for Latias  
He screamed for the fate of the world  
He screamed and screamed until he no longer had a voice, and even then his mouth remained open in silent anguish. His body contorted, his limbs jerking as the pain tortured him.

From behind red and merciless eyes, Latias watched his suffering indifferently. He was merely an obstacle to her, one that had to be removed. But even behind the effects of the Perporus she could hear his pain; it seemed to echo within her consciousness, and within her heart she felt a strange stirring. Unbidden memories sprang to mind as she watched his suffering. His being pulled along a dark and narrow canal as they avoided a Kabutops and Aerodactyl... waking from a fevered sleep to find him by her side... the joy she felt as she moved into a Poke Ball... the two of them swinging together in a moment of absolute bliss... a kiss under the setting sun...

She was unaware that her attack against him stopped. She blinked her eyes once, and when they reopened they were alert, clear, and filled with tears. Latias threw off the effects of the Perporus easily in her sorrow, the infection that ran through her blood killed by the simplest and yet greatest of all emotions.

Her love for him.

She moved closer to him, her eyes sparkling as she nudged his stiff and prone body. May crept in next to her, taking Ash's hand and squeezing it tightly. He was still breathing, but it was laboured and painful. Brock ran up next, his hands already digging into his bag as he moved, trying to find something, anything, to alleviate Ash's pain.

"This is ridiculous," Hunter J muttered from the back of her Salamence as it hovered twenty feet of the ground. "Salamence, use Flamethrower; take them all out." The dragon-type let out a scream and shot the fiery jet of flames towards the small group. Brock and May both looked up and saw the attack bearing down on them. There was no time to react, and even if there had been time no Pokemon they owned could have dispelled that attack. But there was one that could.

Silver and his Salamence moved in unison; from the moment that they had seen J enemy call out her Pokemon while the rest of the field was halted by Ash's pain, they had been steadily making their way towards her, Silver on his Salamence's back. They swooped in between J and her prey, and the Flamethrower was countered by a raging DragonBreath. From that close a range, Silver could feel the heat of the Flamethrower blistering his skin. He knew that Salamence would be okay even this close thanks to its thick scaly skin, but he wasn't so sure about himself.

"Full power!" he roared. "Blast that attack away and show her what a real Salamence looks like in battle!" His dragon-type grunted and dug deep, tapping into the furthest reaches of its strength to overcome the power of the Flamethrower. Silver caught a glimpse of blue light out the corner of his eye and ducked his head, avoiding the Ice Beam as the battle between Giovanni's legendaries and the other Pokemon reconvened, spurned into action by the fight between him and J.

Salamence screeched, and with a mighty effort the attack was finally blown away. J stared down at them impassively.

"I thought I killed you before," she said. "This time I'll finish the job."

"You can try!" Silver jeered. "Salamence! Attack!"

* * *

Jessie, James, Meowth, and Butch ran from one area of the clearing to another, frantically trying to escape from the confused frenzy of battle but being confronted at seemingly every turn by a legendary Pokemon.

"This is insane!" James shouted, dodging in between a battling Azelf and the Dark Celebi. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"I don't know, you tell me!" Jessie screamed, taking refuge behind the stone Kyogre.

"Aren't you guys used to being blasted off?" Butch asked.

"Not by a demonically possessed legendary Pokemon!" Jessie retorted, ducking as Raikou's Thunderbolt flew past her head.

"Ahhh! Save me!" Meowth shouted, running away in a panic from a Giratina who weaved in the air behind him. His foot encountered a heavy bag lying on the ground and he tripped over it. He groaned as the Giratina swooped inches over his head in pursuit of Cresselia. A small object rolled out of the bag and clinked gently against his cheek. Trembling, Meowth opened his eyes and stared at the small object.

"Say, what's dat?" he wondered aloud, reaching out to touch it. The object seemed to explode with red light and he jumped back in sudden fear as it dazzled his retinas.

"Lade!" the Gallade rasped, flexing its blades in a stretch before abruptly noticing the battle.

"Well whaddya know," Meowth smiled. "Lookie what I found."

* * *

Dawn screamed as the Entei bore down on her, its fangs gleaming with flames. A solid blast of water shot past her head, impacting the Entei on the muzzle and sending it reeling backwards. Empoleon jumped back from the Aqua Jet to stand protectively in front of her, flippers crossed in warning.

"Empoleon!" she shouted. "But... how?"

"No need to thank us," Meowth shouted, dashing past her in Ash's direction with a veritable horde of Pokemon behind him. "We found all dose Pokee Balls dat were taken away from you; never say da former Team Rocket didn't do anything for you!"

"Meowth..." she murmured in surprise before Entei's snarl caught her attention again. "Okay then Empoleon; use Whirlpool!" she commanded.

* * *

Ash opened his eyes groggily. He was surprised he could open them at all, considering the horrific amounts of pain he had just endured. The first thing he noticed was that Latias was staring down at him. The second thing he noticed was that her eyes were clear and filled with remorse.

"Ash!" May shrieked, throwing her arms around him in the tightest hug he had ever received. "I thought... I thought..."

"We thought you'd died," Brock said, putting away several used Potions. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit by a Rhydon," Ash rasped, his voice hoarse from the screaming. He reciprocated May's hug tightly and looked at Latias. "Thank you," he said softly. "Thank you for stopping. I know that you weren't under your own control when that happened." Latias cooed, turning her head away. It was obvious enough that despite what Ash said, she blamed herself for not being able to stop the effects of the Perporus sooner.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted, dodging around a running Grunt and throwing himself towards Ash as fast he could.

"Pikachu! You got free!" Ash exclaimed, seizing the electric-type and hugging him closely.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded, his cheeks sparkling with an incredible amount of electricity.

"Whoa... where'd all that come from?" Ash asked in disbelief, looking at the electrical output.

The Plate Pikachu was closest to was the Zap Plate; I recognized it from where I was standing," May said. "Lt. Surge said it was the traditional inheritance of the Vermillion Gym; maybe it somehow boosted Pikachu's power?"

"I hope so... we'll need every volt of it we can to get out of this," Ash muttered, looking around the battlefield with a sinking heart. Pokemon were everywhere, whether they were battling, frozen in stone, or immobile on the ground. He saw Brandon running past with Regirock, Regice and Registeel in tow as he charged towards a massive Regigigas. Lucy and Anabel were working in tandem, as they held off Groudon with their Milotic and Metagross, Noland's Articuno stumbling towards them to help despite one wing being held limply. Noland himself was nowhere to be seen, but Ash let out a shout of joy at the sight of Meowth leading all of his, May's and Brock's Pokemon towards them.

"Guys! You're all here!" he shouted, finding the energy to get to his feet and run to meet them, carrying Pikachu in his arms.

"Ash, look out!" May screamed as one of J's Salamence's Hyper Beams missed its target of Silver's Salamence and flew directly towards him. There was a burst of dust as the attack hit the ground and May heard a scream. Her heart stopped as she, Brock, and Latias darted towards the dust, and when it cleared she saw only portions of his hands and legs visible in between blackness. For a moment she feared the worst, but then the darkness shifted slightly and she realized that it was in fact Cynthia.

"You really need to be more careful than that, Ash!" she scolded, climbing to her feet. "If I hadn't pushed you away..."

"Thanks, Cynthia," he muttered, climbing to his feet sheepishly. "I didn't see it."

"That much is obvious," she said, brushing the dirt off her black outfit; in the pitch black of night she was almost invisible. Only her long golden hair could be seen. "We're losing," she said matter-of-factly. "The legendary Pokemon are powerful, but the ones Giovanni is controlling are even more so. If we don't figure out a way to stop them soon..."

"It's already too late," Ash said, deflating what little hope remained. "Giovanni only needed the legendary Pokemon to make that purple orb so he could summon Cyas – whatever that is. That stopped taking energy from them ages ago. Giovanni's succeeded; there's nothing we can do."

"Maybe there is," Cynthia said, a spark in her eyes. "Giovanni is the key to this whole thing; he's the one who's controlling the legendary Pokemon and summoning Cyas. If we take him out..."

"Then the legendary Pokemon might stop battling, and Cyas might not appear," Brock realized.

"Exactly," Cynthia said. "I'll take out Giovanni; Ash and May, you two cover me, okay?"

"What about me?" Brock asked.

"Find Noland," she said. "When I saw him last he said that some of the legendary Pokemon had been captured with and were being controlled through Dark Balls. You know what Noland's like; once he has one project in mind, he won't stop tinkering around with it. Well he's still experimenting with Poke Balls and he says he's found a way to remove the effects of the Dark Ball with something he calls a Pure Ball. Find Noland and help him free any Dark Pokemon you find."

"Got it," Brock nodded, running off almost instantly with his Pokemon in tow.

"Let's go," Cynthia said simply.

"Do you know where he is?" May asked.

"He's under the orb," Cynthia said, pointing towards the centre of the field.

"Right," Ash nodded before turning to his Pokemon. "Guys, go off and help whoever you can against the legendary Pokemon. May and I will be fine with Cynthia and Pikachu."

"You too," May said to her Pokemon. "We'll be okay; you just do what you can to help everyone out." The Pokemon all nodded and moved off, leaving Ash, May, Pikachu, and Cynthia alone on the field.

"Ready to go?" the Champion asked.

* * *

Two of the legendary Pokemon had not yet entered the conflict. Ho-Oh and Lugia circled above the field, the former looking for an opportunity to attack Giovanni and the second in desperate search of its child. Lugia scanned the field in a near panic, trying and trying against all odds to spot its child. At last it was able to do so.

There was one cage that remained unbroken; Noland's Rhydon and Golduck were desperately trying to get it so they could free the young Lugia inside, but their path was obstructed by a snarling Suicune. Rage blossomed in the Lugia's heart; nothing would prevent it from rescuing its child, and especially not one of Ho-Oh's creatures. It dived towards the ground with as much as speed as it dared and then some, moving for the second time that night in a bid to recue its child. The Suicune saw it coming, but too late; the Lugia unleashed a powerful Aeroblast that ripped the air as it travelled. All it took was one hit, and the Suicune went down.

The Lugia landed heavily next to the cage, trying to nuzzle its child, Silver, through the bars. Joy sprang through its body at their reunion, but confusion reigned as to how the cage could be opened. The Rhydon and Golduck approached, but Lugia hissed dangerously and they backed off quickly; it would not risk any possible harm to its child, not even through one of its own carefully controlled attacks.

The lock on the cage door suddenly clicked into place and the door creaked open. The Lugia was surprised, but it spared little thought for how it had happened; all that mattered was the one that it cared about most had been freed. The parent Lugia nuzzled its child gently and, after making sure no attacks were heading their way, spread wide its wings and took to the air. Silver followed suit, and the two Lugia climbed high into the sky before turning to look at the battleground below. The parent Lugia spared time for one last parting Aeroblast towards a Rayquaza who dared follow them, and then they vanished into the night.

* * *

Mewtwo hovered hidden in the air; his body shook with pain and exhaustion, but he was glad that he had escaped a worse injury from both Latias and Palkia. As he watched the two Lugia fly away, a strange and unfamiliar emotion reflected in his eyes. They had each other, and always would. He had nobody. He was the sole member of his race. What future did he have to look forward to?

He quickly shook the sentimental thoughts from his head. There was no place for them in this kind of situation. He was pleased that his injuries had not restricted his mental abilities in the least, and that he had been able to free the young Lugia by using that strength to push the lock's mechanism into place. His gaze returned to the battle below as he began wondering what Pokemon he could attack of help next. Greta's Medicham being attacked by an Uxie caught his eyes, and he charged downwards to intervene.

* * *

The two Salamence's collided belly-to-belly, their legs scrabbling at the other's thick hides, trying to gain an advantage. Silver gritted his teeth angrily. His Salamence was slightly smaller and faster in the air, but J had that weapon which turned Pokemon into stone. With every opening she shot a burst at them, and his Salamence was forced to use every ounce of its manoeuvrability to avoid them; it was wearing down quickly, and he knew that this battle had to end soon if he were to win.

"DragonBreath!" he ordered.

"Flamethrower!" J retaliated. The two attacks melded and burst apart, sending fragments of green and red flame flying in every which direction.

"Okay, Salamence, climb and use Dragon Claw!" he shouted.

"Counter with an Iron Tail," J said calmly. The two attacks collided, but Silver's Salamence came off slightly better, halting the Iron Tail with one arm and striking with the other. J's Salamence let out a cry of surprise and wobbled slightly in the air, falling below them. This was the chance they had been waiting for and Silver seized it.

"Salamence, grab hold and use Crunch on the neck!" he ordered. J's eyes widened in surprise, but Silver's Salamence didn't hesitate. It lunged downwards and the teeth found purchase along its foes neck scales. J's Salamence struggled helplessly; in flight its neck acted as a rudder, and with the ability to turn it gone it was unable to fly at all.

The two Salamence scrabbled against each other but Silver's kept its head and remained on top, positioning itself so that it was almost straddling the back of J's dragon-type. His eyes burning ferociously, Silver reached over the side of his Pokemon and grabbed J by the arm. She struggled of course, but for all her cunning she was helpless against his raw strength.

He pulled her onto the back of his Salamence, ripping her weapon out of her grip as she tried to fight him off. "Hold on," he growled venomously as his Pokemon rolled in mid-air and delivered two powerful Iron Tails in a row to the back of her Salamence's head. Its eyes closed lazily and Silver's Salamence relinquished its grip on the neck. J watched helplessly as her Salamence fell to earth and crashed heavily below. Silver grabbed her by the neck and spun her around so that they were face to face. Her eyes were inches from his, and for the first time in her life they were filled with fear. His held no mercy.

"I'm no murderer," he breathed, "but dropping a statue from this high up isn't murder, is it?"

"No!" J had time to scream before that fear was permanently etched into her face. Silver raised the weapon and fired.

"It's not a bad statue," he said to his Pokemon as he examined his handiwork, "but it leaves a lot to be desired. The museum would never go for this. He sighed theatrically and tossed the frozen facsimile of the Pokemon Hunter J into the air. He watched as the stone statue that had once been the most feared woman in existence plummeted to earth before finally smashing on the hard ground below.

"Goodbye, Cousin," he said softly.

* * *

"There!" Cynthia shouted, pointing as they ducked under the tail of the stone Dialga. May, the last to step under, let out a shriek as the rock seemed to melt away from the Pokemon's body. Ash and Cynthia both turned and gaped as Dialga stretched and roared its anger to the sky. More of the frozen Pokemon now seemed to rid themselves of the rock, as they began moving across the ground in search of another to battle. Dialga trained its sights on Palkia and shot into the air, moving in to attack. The world seemed to shake at the force of the impact.

"No need to thank me!" Silver roared as he shot past them on his Salamence. "It's amazing what this weapon of J's can do! I twist a knob and all of the frozen Pokemon are unfrozen and battling the Pokemon Giovanni is controlling; how's that for you!"

"Silver, you may have just won us this battle!" Cynthia shouted after him as he disappeared into a throng of Grunts battling against Tucker and his Pokemon. "Come on," she added to Ash and May, "we have to get to Giovanni!" Ash and May nodded before turning and stopping dead.

Giovanni was now only a few feet away from them; he stood directly beneath the orb which had now lost the majority of its purple colour. The small prick of bright light that had appeared after Giovanni's recitation had grown; it had now become a massive gleam that seemed to tear out their retinas. It had a decidedly equine shape, and the top of its head was now only inches away from the boundaries of the orb. At the centre of the orb they could still see the faint outline of the GS Ball, a slight shade of grey on the gleaming white. They felt frozen at the sight of it, and Giovanni began to laugh madly at the sight of them.

"You fools; you can't stop me! Cyas has been called and nothing can prevent it from coming. In minutes your world will be torn apart and my ambition will be complete! When its head breaches the orb, I will have control of the most powerful Pokemon in existence!"

"You'll have to battle with me to prove it true," Cynthia said with authority, stepping forwards with a Poke Ball in hand. "Do your worst, Giovanni!"

"My worst?" he repeated with a mad grin. "Why ever not? Nidoking and Tyranitar! Let's go!"

"Lucario and Garchomp; Battledance!" Cynthia shouted, releasing her two most powerful Pokemon in the familiar blast of red light. "Ash, May," she said in a low voice. "You have to get past us; do whatever you can to stop Cyas. We're almost out of time."

"What can we do to stop it?" May asked.

"Whatever you can," Cynthia answered. "Attack it with your Pokemon, pull the GS Ball out, just whatever you're able to."

"Right; let's go May," Ash said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her around in a circle towards the opposite side of the orb.

"Oh no you don't!" Giovanni grinned. "Nidoking; Horn Drill on the two of them!"

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia ordered. The dragon-type launched its attack just in time; it hit the Nidoking with only feet to spare, sending the poison-type reeling backwards. "_GO!_" Cynthia roared before dancing in close with her Lucario to deliver a devastating Force Palm against Tyranitar.

Ash pulled May with him back into the darkness, electing to take a slightly longer route in order to avoid being seen by the mad leader of the Rockets. Dialga and Giratina clashed just above their heads, the former having taken care of the tired Palkia. Latios flew past slowly, his body still weak from the revival as he frantically searched for his sister.

At last they made it around. The top of Cyas's head was almost brushing against the surface of the orb and Ash knew that they had only seconds left. But they were not alone in their movement towards what would be their destruction.

"Going somewhere?" Paul's cold voice rang out, bringing Ash, May, and Pikachu to a halt. They turned to see him standing there, Electivire at his side.

"You aren't going to stop us this time, Paul," Ash said authoritatively. Paul's eyes seemed to burn with a fire as he stared at his enemy.

"This time there will be no tie," he said. "I will use Cyas to destroy your body; but not before I destroy your spirit! Electivire, Thunder!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash retaliated, and the two electric attacks collided before fusing and exploding in midair.

"You have no chance!" Paul shouted, his face as mad as his father's. "There is no way to stop Cyas!"

"There's a way to stop you!" Ash roared, Paul's words reverberating through his mind. "Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

"Electivire, Thunder Punch!" Paul countered. The two Pokemon ran towards each other at full speed, Electivire's fist gleaming yellow with stored electricity and Pikachu's entire body covered in a brilliant golden glow that left a trail of sparks behind it. Electivire swung its fist downwards but Pikachu dodged the move, running instead towards Paul. He opened his mouth in shock, but before he could saw a word Pikachu smashed into him. He screamed as the stored electricity in Pikachu's coat, amplified by his presence to the Zap Plate, coursed through his veins. Ash's greatest enemy shook and collapsed, unable to move.

"There is a way to stop Cyas," Ash said, breathing harshly as he glared down at his fallen enemy. "There's always a way... There has to be a way..." And then it came to him. Giovanni had unwittingly told them all the method himself. And though the proposition filled him with dread, he knew it was the only option.

_If worst comes to worst with the end drawing near  
__My rampage causing naught but harm  
__There is but one way to stay your fears  
__Self-sacrifice stills these arms._

He turned to May and grabbed her tightly. Tears coursed down his cheeks and she stood there confused, not understanding what was going through his mind.

"Ash, what's wrong?" she asked, patting him awkwardly on the back.

"Goodbye, May," he said with as much strength as he could muster, forcing the dampness back. "I'll never forget you; never."

"Ash, what-?" she began, but he had already turned to Pikachu.

"Take care of her, Pikachu," he said softly, hugging his best friend close. "Take care of them all for me, okay buddy?"

"Ash, you're scaring me! Stop this!" she begged. He turned back to her and kissed her on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered, breaking away. "I love you so much." He looked deeply into her eyes for one last time before wrenching his gaze away and turning to walk towards the last vestige of the orb that held Cyas. There was a screech from above and, with its blazing golden light, Ho-Oh shot down from the sky towards the orb as well.

It suddenly struck May what Ash intended to do. She stood there dumbly, her mind racing as Giovanni's words now echoed in her own mind.

_Self-sacrifice stills these arms._

"_Ash, NO!_" she screamed, leaping after him.

There was a massive roar and an explosion as Ash and Ho-Oh moved together into the orb; May was thrown painfully backwards from the force, her world tumbling end over end before she hit the ground hard. It seemed to her scrambled mind that the universe was coming to an end. The earth shook, trees were uprooted, and vision failed entirely. The air crackled with energy and strong winds blasted from every direction. There was a scream, a roar, and then there was nothing.

May crawled painfully to her feet, looking blindly in the direction of the orb. It was gone. Cyas was gone. Ash and Ho-Oh were gone. They were all gone. The scorched and blackened ruins of the GS Ball fell to the ground and rolled to a halt at her feet as Giovanni's legendary Pokemon looked around in confusion before fleeing en masse, the Perporus wiped entirely from their systems by the death of Cyas. By the death of...

"No!" May screamed, leaping upright and staggering towards the scorched earth that marked where it had all ended. Her vision failed again, this time from the masses of tears that poured from her eyes. She scrabbled desperately at the black earth, screaming with such agony and loss that it brought tears to all who heard.

"No! No! Ash! _ASH!_"

But her only answer was the gently blowing breeze.


	42. Epilogue

_Ten years later..._

May looked up from the sink and out of the window, sighing. In the backyard she could see Glaceon and Pikachu curled up together, and both Bulbasaur sleeping nearby. In a distant corner Munchlax was poking its nose inside into the hedge, obviously searching out something to eat, and she caught a brief flash of brown as Noctowl flew past the window.

Her heart heavy, she returned to the dishes, vainly trying to scrub off a persistent stain. At last giving it up as a bad job she left the pan in to soak, dried her hands, and sat down on the couch to wait. She wasn't waiting for long. A loud crash echoed from upstairs, and then she heard footsteps thundering down the stairs. She turned just in time to see the figure of her slightly clumsy daughter, Alex, dashing towards the front door.

"Bye, Mom!" she shouted, wrenching the door open. "I've gotta go, I don't want to be late!"

"Don't you at least want some breakfast first?" May called after her receding figure. Alex appeared to have not heard, and May sighed. "She's as impulsive as her father," she murmured as Pikachu walked in through the still open door and sprang on to her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek.

"Well good morning, Pikachu," she greeted him warmly. "Are you ready to see her off?"

"Pi!" Pikachu agreed. May returned to the kitchen and wrapped some buttered toast in a napkin before heading to the door.

"Come on then," she said, "we may as well go now. I doubt she'll want to stay at Gary's lab for too long before leaving. Glaceon!" she called, and the ice type came around the side of the house and fell into step at her side. Closing the door securely behind her, May turned and headed up the path towards the lab. Her thoughts churned as she walked, and she couldn't help but feel a pit of loneliness in her stomach.

It had been a gut-wrenching ten years. Since Ash's death outside Mount Silver, so much had changed. She had carried their daughter for nine months before giving birth. She had felt a little strange for the weeks preceeding the first bulge of her waistline, and had been very surprised when the doctor told her she would be having a child. She hadn't even known she was pregnant, and realized that it must have happened on that night in the Vermillion City Pokemon Centre. She fely slightly teary-eyed every time she recalled the moment of birth; Ash's last gift to her. Thankfully it had been relatively easy.

But the birth had been shrouded in much sadness. Shortly after the battle ended, May returned to Pallet Town with Brock, Dawn, and Silver. Delia had been very pleased to see them at first, but broke down when Silver told her what had happened, and the truth about what hd happened to her husband - he conveniently neglected to tell her that Dawn was her step-daughter. Distraught at the knowledge, Delia had lost the will to live. She became a shadow of her former self, sunken in grief, not caring if she lived or died. She had held her granddaughter for only a few moments before she died in her hospital bed. Barely two years later, Professor Oak also died. Unlike Delia, his passing was peaceful. He had simply gone to bed one night, claiming he was tired, and not woken up again.

Latias suffered almost as much as Delia in the year following Ash's death. She had transformed into her human state after so she could express her grief more freely, but was unable to transform back later. She stayed with May for a time, but never seemed to be able to control her sorrow and guilt. She was often listless, unmoving, and tears never seemed to be far from her eyes. A month after Alex's birth, she quietly left one morning and did not return. Nobody knew where she had gone. May contacted Lorenzo and Bianca of Alto Mare City several times, but they were never revisited by the legendary Pokemon, although Latios had returned to their greatest surprise. It was only later that Brock revealed to her how Latias's father had sacrificed himself to save lives, just as Ash had. That in combination with the feelings he suspected Latias had secretly harboured for Ash had cost her deeply, he theorized. It made a vague sense, but May wished she could have at least said goodbye to the legendary Pokemon; she suspected that Latias had gone to Ash's grave and kept an undetected vigil there ever since.

It had been a much happier time outside of Pallet. Her brother had won a League and become the Petalburg Gym leader after their father retired. Rey had finally claimed the last three Kanto badges she needed and competed in the Indigo League, where she placed second. Following that she had decided to travel the world on foot, travelling through Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Three years ago Rey fell out of touch with all her old friends, although they all tried to contact her frequently; May hoped that wherever she was, she was happy. Brock and Dawn certainly were; Brock had met Holly in a chance encounter at the Viridian City Pokemon Centre. A short time later they had married, and only the next day Dawn and Forrest were also wedded. It was the only time May had ever seen Silver cry, although he'd said it was because, as Dawn's closest living male relative, he'd had to foot the bill.

Tears began filling up in her eyes as the memories came back to her, good and bad alike. But forefront among this was the realization that, for the first time in her life, she would be alone. After Ash's death she had been surrounded by his friends and family, and when they began to disperse she had her daughter to look after. Now Alex was leaving on her own Pokemon journey, and May would be alone in the house.

"Maybe I should become a Frontier Brain," she said aloud, surprising Pikachu and Glaceon. "After the Battle Colosseum was rebuilt Scott said that the position was open for me if I wanted it. It's not too far away from town, and it would give me a chance to get my battle skills back into shape. What do you guys think?"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed

"Grai!" Glaceon nodded happily.

And then Pikachu's ears twitched.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" May asked, noticing his sudden attentiveness.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted, pointing behind them. May turned, dropped the toast, and almost fell over. Her body felt frozen at what she saw. It was impossible... It couldn't be...

Moving slowly, a Ho-Oh soared overhead, its glittering golden body eschewing a rainbow stream as it moved by. It flew over her and let loose a piercing cry as it passed, a cry that brought tears to her eyes. She felt its eyes following her as it flew directly over her before moving on, heading in the direction of Gary Oak's lab. And in that one instant, all the doubt and fear that she had over her daughter's journey was lost. Alex's father was watching over her.

"Ash..." May whispered. And then, with a blink of her eyelashes, there was a second tremulous cry and it was gone.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading this over the last year. Thank you all so much. I hope that you enjoyed it. I'll take this final moment to drop two pieces of advice:  
1) Never be afraid to write;  
2) Dream out loud.**

**Thank you, everyone.**


End file.
